You must be prepared to accept some postoperative discomfort, down-time, swelling, and potential inconveniences as part of the process; this varies with each type of procedure and can be different with every patient.
Some degree of swelling along with resulting lumps and bumps and numbness, as well as pinkness follows any surgical procedure. Healing is promoted by the movement of new tissue fluids and increased blood flow to the surgical site. As healing progresses and the excess fluid is no longer required it is absorbed, the pinkness subsides and lumps and bumps settle down.
It is not unusual for one side of the nose, face, eyelids, chin, body, etc. to swell more than the other. In fact, asymmetric swelling is normal and not a reflection of the technical differences of surgery between the two sides of the face, eyes, ears, nose, or the two sides of the body when breast or body procedures are performed, etc.
No one is perfectly symmetrical. There are differences in shape, size, and position of everyone’s eyes, ears, nostrils, cheeks, jaw line, brows, breast, tummy, arms, legs, etc. Surgery will NOT make facial or body components symmetric. Surgery is sometimes undertaken in an attempt to IMPROVE asymmetric parts, such as asymmetric breast or an asymmetric nasal tip. However, perfect symmetry is an UNREALISTIC EXPECTATION.
You must be willing to accept temporary swelling and discoloration that occurs following such operations. Most people feel that this is a negligible inconvenience for the physical and physiological improvement they generally experience.
Anytime an incision is made the skin edges mend by producing collagen (scar tissue). In the early post operative period, the incision line will look lumpy and pink. The wound matures with time and should become smoother and lighter. A surgeon cannot speed up the maturation time or alter your skin’s healing ability. Each person heals differently and the ultimate appearance is dependent upon several factors, including your skin’s tolerance and healing capacity. In any event, the incision may generally be adequately camouflaged with cosmetics, hair styling and clothing (sometimes in the case of breast or body surgery).
Every surgical procedure, even something as simple as the removal of a mole, carries some risk, both in terms of complications and in the sense that the results may not match a person’s expectations. Although rare, potential problems include discoloration, swelling, numbness, poor healing, bleeding, distortion, asymmetries, infection, excessive scarring, injuries to muscles and nerve, paralysis, reactions to anesthesia or other medications, blindness, other physical impairments, death, etc.
One can compare these risks to the risks taken when driving a car. The possibility that a serious accident will occur on a particular is statistically unlikely, but the risk does exist. Each individual’s response to surgical circumstances may vary, and that response plays a major role in the eventual outcome of any surgical experience. It is impossible and unethical for any physician to guarantee the results of any treatment. However, we do strive to do the best we can to help each patient, and in the vast majority of cases we are successful. Take at look at our gallery to see some amazing before and afters.
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