Cosmetic Surgery Preparation: What You Need to Know

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Choosing a procedure and scheduling a date are only the first steps of cosmetic surgery preparation. Your safety and results may be influenced by your health, expectations, recovery plan, and home environment. By preparing carefully, you may reduce several surgical risks, including infection, bleeding, blood clots, healing problems, and reactions to anesthesia.

This Canadian guide covers the main steps involved in preparing for cosmetic surgery. Common procedures covered include breast augmentation, breast lift, tummy tuck, liposuction, facelift, eyelid surgery, and rhinoplasty. General advice cannot replace your plastic surgeon’s directions, which will be tailored to your procedure and health.

Start by Choosing a Qualified Plastic Surgeon

The title used by a clinic can be confusing. In Canada, the term “cosmetic surgeon” may be used even when a physician is not certified as a specialist in plastic surgery. Before you agree to surgery, verify the doctor’s training, licence, experience, and professional standing.

Certification through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, often shown by the FRCSC designation, may identify a Canadian plastic surgery specialist. In Quebec, specialist certification may be confirmed through the Collège des médecins du Québec. Your provincial or territorial College of Physicians and Surgeons can confirm whether a doctor is licensed and disclose available information about restrictions or discipline.

Use your consultation to ask the following questions:

Are you certified as a specialist in plastic surgery?
How frequently do you complete this specific procedure?
In what clinic will the operation be performed?
Is the surgical facility inspected or accredited under provincial requirements?
Who will provide my anesthesia, and what are their qualifications?
What are your complication and revision rates for this operation?
Do you have hospital admitting privileges or an emergency transfer plan?
Who will care for me if a problem develops after normal clinic hours?

Use caution if a clinic offers guarantees, pushes limited-time discounts, or encourages unwanted procedures. No ethical surgeon can promise a perfect result or a risk-free recovery.

Decide Whether Cosmetic Surgery Is Suitable for You

Cosmetic surgery may be appropriate when you are physically stable, understand the risks, and are pursuing the procedure for yourself. Although surgery may alter a physical feature, it cannot promise happiness, confidence, professional success, or relationship improvement.

Describe the specific change you want and ask what the procedure can realistically achieve. Final results depend partly on your anatomy, skin, age, health history, scars, and individual response to healing. Another person’s result cannot be duplicated exactly, even when before-and-after photographs are used as a guide.

Assess Your Mental Readiness

Do not rush into surgery during a personal crisis or because someone else wants you to change. Your surgeon should know about any history of depression, anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, eating disorders, or related mental health concerns. This information is relevant to your care and should not be treated as a reason for embarrassment.

You may benefit from more time or support if you constantly focus on a minor or imagined flaw, expect surgery to solve several areas of your life, or have had repeated procedures without feeling satisfied. Surgery may be postponed when the expected benefit cannot reasonably meet a patient’s goals.

Share Your Full Medical History

To assess your risk safely, the plastic surgeon and anesthesia provider need a complete and truthful medical history. Do not hide a condition or substance use because you fear the operation will be cancelled. Missing information can make anesthesia, pain control, and recovery less safe.

Tell the team about:

Heart disease, lung disease, kidney or liver problems, and bleeding conditions
A history of hypertension, diabetes, anemia, or sleep apnea
Past deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or another clotting disorder
Medication, adhesive, latex, or surgical skin preparation allergies
Any history of anesthesia reactions, serious nausea, or airway intubation difficulty
Previous surgeries, implants, and abnormal scarring or keloids
Current illness, infected teeth, skin rashes, or unhealed wounds
A current or possible pregnancy, breastfeeding, or future pregnancy plans
Every medication and supplement you use, including prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and natural health products
Any current or recent nicotine, cannabis, alcohol, opioid, or recreational drug use

Pre-operative assessment may include bloodwork, an electrocardiogram, imaging, pregnancy testing, or medical clearance from a family physician or specialist. The tests ordered will depend on factors such as your age, health, operation, and planned anesthesia. Do not delay requested tests, because your surgeon must receive and assess the results before the operation.

Review All Medications and Supplements

Prepare a written list of everything you take. For each item, record its name, dose, purpose, and frequency of use. Your surgeon should receive this list during the consultation and pre-operative assessment.

Some medicines and supplements can affect bleeding, blood pressure, blood sugar, blood clots, sedation, or wound healing. Anticoagulants, aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, diabetes medication, hormone therapy, contraceptives, copyrights, weight-loss medicine, and certain supplements may require special attention.

Ask specifically about GLP-1 medications used for diabetes or weight management. Because GLP-1 medications may slow stomach emptying, they can affect fasting instructions and anesthesia planning. Instructions can vary based on the medication, dose, symptoms, and type of procedure.

Do not discontinue any prescription medication without medical instructions. Abruptly discontinuing anticoagulants, seizure treatments, copyrights, antidepressants, or cardiac drugs may cause serious harm. The surgeon, anesthesia provider, and prescribing clinician should create a plan together when changes are needed.

Avoid Tobacco, Vaping, and Nicotine

Nicotine narrows blood vessels and reduces the oxygen available to healing tissue. As a result, nicotine can raise the risk of infection, skin loss, wounds opening, slow healing, and more visible scars. Nicotine is a particular concern for tissue-tightening or tissue-moving procedures such as facelifts, breast lifts, breast reductions, and tummy tucks.

Nicotine exposure can come from cigarettes, cigars, vapes, chewing tobacco, pouches, gum, or patches. Vaping should not be treated as a safe option during surgical preparation. Your surgeon should tell you when to stop nicotine and whether a replacement product can be used safely. Patients are often instructed to avoid nicotine for weeks before and after surgery, and some practices confirm this with testing.

Limit your exposure to second-hand smoke as much as you can. If you need support to stop nicotine, seek help early from a pharmacist, family doctor, or smoking cessation service in your province.

Discuss Cannabis, Alcohol, and Other Substances

Cannabis is legal in Canada, but that does not make it harmless around surgery. Cannabis smoke and vapour may irritate your lungs and airway. Frequent cannabis use can affect anesthesia requirements, heart rate, nausea treatment, and post-operative pain control. Edibles and medical cannabis must also be reported.

Explain how you consume cannabis, how regularly you use it, and when it was last taken. Use the surgical team’s directions to determine when cannabis must be avoided. Do not arrive for surgery impaired.

Alcohol may interact with pain drugs and sedatives while also affecting bleeding, hydration, and withdrawal risk. If you drink heavily or frequently, disclose it because withdrawal may need to be medically managed. Serious anesthesia complications can result from copyright, methamphetamine, non-prescribed opioids, and other drugs. Your surgical team needs this information to protect you, not to judge you.

Support Your Body Before Surgery

Keep Your Weight Stable Before Surgery

Losing a large amount of weight after body-contouring surgery may alter the outcome. The result and scars may also be affected by weight gain. It may be best to delay surgery until after major weight loss and a period of weight stability.

A restrictive crash diet is not a safe way to prepare for surgery. Healing may be affected when extreme dieting limits essential nutrients such as protein and iron. Patients with previous bariatric surgery or anemia should ask about extra nutrition and blood testing.

Build a Nutritious Pre-Surgery Diet

Support your health with regular meals, good hydration, protein, produce, and whole-grain foods. Protein supports tissue repair and can come from fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, tofu, beans, and lentils. Follow medical advice if you have diabetes, kidney disease, food allergies, or another condition that changes your diet.

Avoid high-dose vitamins and products marketed for healing unless your care team has approved them. Some natural health products carry surgical risks, including medication interactions and increased bleeding.

Maintain Safe Physical Activity

Regular walking and suitable exercise can support heart and lung health before surgery. It also helps you practise a routine that may be used during recovery to reduce stiffness and blood clot risk. If exercise is affected by chest pain, shortness of breath, reduced mobility, or illness, ask a clinician what activity is safe.

Understand the Procedure and Recovery

Informed consent is a discussion, not just a form. You should understand the planned operation, anesthesia, incision locations, scars, alternatives, expected benefits, and possible complications.

Depending on the procedure, possible risks may include:

Bleeding, a collection of blood called a hematoma, or emergency surgery
Infection, healing delays, or both
Blood clots in the legs or lungs
Fluid collection, also called a seroma
Temporary or lasting numbness, altered nerves, or ongoing pain
Scars that become raised, dark, wide, thick, or uneven
Asymmetry, contour changes, or an unsatisfactory result
Implant problems, including rupture or capsular contracture
Respiratory problems or complications related to anesthesia
A later operation to revise the result

Ask how long swelling and bruising usually last and when the result can be judged. The surgical area can look larger or uneven at first because of normal swelling. Results from breast, facial, and body-contouring procedures may develop gradually over several weeks or months.

Organize Your Cosmetic Surgery Recovery

You may need greater assistance than expected in the early stage of recovery. Arrange your support before surgery, especially if you live alone, care for children, or have limited mobility.

Ask a reliable adult to provide transportation and accompany you after discharge. Sedation and general anesthesia make it unsafe for you to drive yourself home.
Arrange for an adult to remain with you as long as the clinic requires, which is often through the first night.
Plan for someone else to handle children, pets, groceries, cleaning, and other household responsibilities.
Confirm how much time you need away from work, school, exercise, and driving.
Make easy meals in advance and move frequently used supplies to a comfortable height.
Before surgery, collect prescribed medicine, approved dressings, and required garments.
Store both regular and emergency clinic contact details in an accessible place.

If you are travelling within Canada for surgery, plan to remain nearby for required follow-up visits. After some operations, extended flights or car journeys can add to the risk of blood clots. Ask when travel is safe and how complications will be managed once you return home.

Organize Your Home for Recovery

Create a clean, comfortable area with water, medications, a thermometer, a phone charger, and the supplies approved by your clinic. If your sleeping position must remain elevated, extra pillows or an approved wedge may be useful.

Only obtain a compression garment after the surgical team provides the proper style and sizing information. If a garment fits too tightly, it can injure the skin, cause pain, or interfere with circulation.

Understand the Total Cost of Cosmetic Surgery

Elective cosmetic surgery is generally not covered by provincial or territorial health insurance plans. Medically required or reconstructive operations may be treated differently and can require advance funding approval.

Ask the clinic for a written estimate covering:

Professional, anesthesia, and operating room or clinic charges
Costs for implants, compression garments, prescriptions, and laboratory testing
Applicable taxes and payment terms
Which post-operative appointments and services are included
The clinic’s cancellation, postponement, and refund terms
Possible charges for revision surgery or complication management

Your total budget should account for missed income, childcare, travel, lodging, medicine, and assistance at home. Private benefits may vary, so confirm coverage and never assume every complication related to cosmetic surgery will be insured.

Carefully Follow All Surgery Preparation Instructions

The Final Week or Two Before Surgery

During this period, verify medications, medical testing, your ride home, and recovery assistance. Avoid sunburn, cuts, rashes, and hair removal that could irritate the surgical area. Follow the surgeon’s instructions about skin cleansers, shaving, nail products, and cosmetic treatments.

Tell the surgical team promptly about a cough, fever, cold, flu, COVID-19, infection, stomach illness, rash, or other health change. When you are unwell, delaying elective surgery may be the safest option.

What to Do the Day Before Your Operation

Verify when to arrive and review the exact fasting directions provided by the clinic. Your procedure and anesthesia plan determine when food and liquids must be stopped. Online fasting advice should not be used in place of your surgical team’s instructions. If fasting directions are not followed, stomach contents could enter the lungs under anesthesia and the procedure might be postponed or cancelled.

Shower as directed and use any prescribed antiseptic cleanser correctly. The surgical area should not be shaved, scrubbed, or marked without specific instructions. facial rejuvenation cosmetic plastic surgery Rest well and do not use alcohol or recreational substances.

Your Cosmetic Surgery Day

Follow the team’s exact directions about which medicines to take and how much water can be used. Do not chew gum, suck candy, or drink coffee unless your instructions clearly permit it.

Choose clean, comfortable clothes that can be taken off without difficulty. After facial or breast surgery, a shirt that fastens at the front can be easier to wear. Do not bring jewellery, valuable items, contact lenses, or unnecessary personal products. If directed by your clinic, arrive without cosmetics, skin lotion, fragrance, or deodorant.

Bring photo identification, your provincial health card if requested, medication information, clinic forms, and any prescribed garment. You and the surgical team should confirm the planned operation and treatment site before entering the operating room.

Know What to Expect After Cosmetic Surgery

Many cosmetic operations cause temporary swelling, bruising, soreness, tightness, tiredness, or reduced sensation. Follow the written instructions for medications, dressings, drains, compression garments, bathing, sleeping position, and activity.

Do not change a medication’s dose or schedule without approval. Unless your clinician gives approval, never mix opioid pain medication with cannabis, alcohol, sleeping pills, or another sedative. Constipation, nausea, mental impairment, and dangerously slow breathing can occur with opioid medication. Store them securely and return unused medication through a pharmacy take-back program.

Although gentle movement is often useful for circulation, heavy exertion can place stress on healing tissue and increase swelling or bleeding. Do not drive until you are off impairing medication, can move comfortably, and can make an emergency stop safely.

When to Contact Your Surgeon or Seek Help

Contact your surgeon promptly if you have worsening redness, warmth, pus, bad-smelling drainage, increasing pain, a high or persistent fever, sudden swelling, an opening incision, uncontrolled vomiting, or a drain problem.

Call 911 or seek emergency care for trouble breathing, chest pain, fainting, confusion, blue lips, uncontrolled bleeding, or signs of a serious allergic reaction. A blood clot may cause sudden pain in a leg or swelling that affects one calf. Do not wait for a routine follow-up appointment when symptoms may be urgent.

Your Complete Pre-Surgery Checklist

My surgeon’s licence, plastic surgery qualifications, and relevant experience have been checked.
I checked that the surgical facility follows applicable provincial standards.
My surgical team has received accurate information about my health, drugs, supplements, and substance use.
The surgical team has explained all restrictions involving fasting, medicine, nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis.
I understand the procedure, scars, recovery, risks, alternatives, and possible need for revision.
My surgeon has received the requested test results and knows about any new illness or infection.
Transportation, home assistance, child or pet care, and recovery time away from work have been planned.
I know how to reach the clinic during business hours and after hours, and I have written care directions.
The warning signs for routine, urgent, and emergency medical attention have been explained to me.

Take Time to Prepare and Get Clear Answers

A safe surgical plan should reflect your health, personal goals, and realistic medical advice. Allow time to verify your surgeon, address health factors you can change, and arrange reliable recovery help. If any instruction is unclear, contact the surgical team before the operation. Questions about fasting, medications, wound care, and complications should always be directed to the surgical team.

The information on this page is general and cannot replace personalized guidance from a plastic surgeon, anesthesiologist, family physician, pharmacist, or another regulated clinician.

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COSMETIC SURGERY PREPARATION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Cosmetic Surgery Preparation: What You Need to Know