Vetting your surgical center
Having outpatient surgery such as plastic surgery? Check that your outpatient surgery center is safe and reputable. It’s important to ensure that the facility your procedure will take place in is held to the highest standards of safety, quality and patient care. In order to find out if a facility is accredited by a credible organization, you should look for at least one of the following certifications:
- State licensure
- Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
- American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAASF)
- Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care
- Title XVIII Medicare participation
Don’t be afraid to ask if the surgical center is accredited. You can always ask your Signature Nurse to help you research.
Salemy M.D., Shahram. “Finding the Right Plastic Surgeon for You.” American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 28 July 2021, https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/blog/finding-the-right-plastic-surgeon-for-you.
When can I shower after surgery?
Ask your surgeon when you are allowed to shower. For the most part, it will be 48 hours after surgery. When you do shower, you will most likely be instructed to:
- Keep your dressing clean and dry
- Cover the dressing with plastic food wrap or a plastic bag if possible
- If your dressings get wet, remove them and apply a dry one
- It is beneficial to have a hand held shower to direct the flow of water
You can always call your Signature Nurse
Diet after surgery, the first 24 hours:
After surgery, you are recovering from the effects of anesthesia, you may be nauseated and lack an appetite. To ease your way back to eating, make sure you have some of these ready at home
Clear foods such as jello, apple juice, ginger ale and broth. These are foods you can see through.
You can then advance to bland food like saltines, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, yogurt, soft chicken or fish.
Call Signature Nurse if you need more ideas of what to have in your pantry to prep for post op recovery.
Driving after surgery
You will not be able to drive yourself home. You are required to have a responsible driver after surgery. The surgical center does not allow you to take a taxi or share-ride like Uber or Lyft home. You must have a responsible adult bring you home to receive discharge instructions. Signature Nurse can help bring you home and tuck you in.
- We are licensed nurses and understand discharge instructions
- We will line up your meds
- We will stop off to pick up food and prescriptions
- We will tuck you in safe and sound