The main risks of any skin surgery are bleeding and infection. We will provide you with detailed instructions to help you minimize these risks at home. A scar is a natural and expected result of your surgery. It is also permanent. Please note that the final appearance of your scar is highly dependent on how your individual body heals, and we cannot guarantee a specific cosmetic outcome.
Bleeding Risks
- Please notify your doctor or physician assistant if you are taking blood thinners such as Coumadin or Plavix. Your surgery may still be performed while on these medications, but it is helpful information for your physician to know. DO NOT STOP these medications without the consent of your general physician.
- Notify your doctor or physician assistant if you take aspirin regularly. Unless your physician has prescribed aspirin for you, please do not take aspirin for 10 days prior to surgery and 3-5 days after surgery. Again, if your physician has you taking aspirin for your health, please DO NOT STOP this medication unless approved by the prescribing physician.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (Advil, Motrin, Ibuprofen, Naprosyn, etc.) should be discontinued for 3 days prior to and 2 days after surgery if possible.
- Do not take herbal supplements such as Vitamin E, St John’s wort, ginseng, ginger, Fish Oil, Garlic or Ginkgo Biloba for 3 days before and after surgery (unless these are prescribed by a physician for a medical condition). These supplements may increase bleeding tendencies.
Infection Risks
- Antibiotics by mouth are not routinely prescribed for skin surgery. There are rare occasions when this will be recommended.
- If you have had joint replacement or if you have any heart conditions such as an artificial heart valve, congenital heart disease or have had a history of infections of the heart, please notify your doctor or physician assistant. We may want to prescribe antibiotics prior to your surgery, but this is not always necessary.
- After surgery, we will give you post-operative wound care instructions to minimize the chance your site will get infected. The chance of developing an infection is very low.
Other Considerations
- Please notify your doctor or physician assistant if you have a pacemaker, defibrillator, or any device implanted with a battery.
- Please notify your doctor or physician assistant if you have any known allergies to lidocaine or epinephrine.
- Notify your doctor or physician assistant if you have the tendency to form keloid scars.
- You will want to stay out of lake, river, ocean and pool water while your site is healing (typically 2 weeks).
- You will need to avoid heavy exercise for at least 24-48 hours after surgery, perhaps longer depending on the surgical site.
- A surgical site takes several weeks to gain strength. Even 1 month after your surgery, the surgery site will only be about 40% of its original strength. This means that putting tension (stress) on your surgical site as it heals may spread the scar and occasionally cause the surgery site to open. Due to this, you will want to minimize stress on your surgical site as much as possible for several weeks after your surgery.
- Please ask us if you have any other questions or concerns regarding your upcoming surgery.
