Immediately after surgery, you will recover for about 1 hour. You will have a snug gauze wrap around your head and neck and will need a responsible adult to pick you up and stay with you overnight. We encourage you to take pain medication after you have eaten something so that you can get a good night sleep. Most patients do not complain of significant pain after surgery.
The day after surgery, you will return to the office where we will remove the dressing, wash your hair if you desire, clean the stiches and place another light dressing. You will remove this at home the next day.
In terms of pain and discomfort, most patients do not describe it as a painful recovery and stop taking pain medication after a couple days. You will feel swollen, tired and will want to rest as much as possible. We will want you to rest on your back, with your head elevated on a couple pillows, for the first week and continuing into the second.
As part of our Rapid Recovery Program, we provide you with Arnica Montana, an anti-bruising homeopathic medication that has been shown to reduce bruising and swelling.
Most patients are able to return to public, with a little makeup, in approximately 2 weeks. If you have an important event, such as a wedding, you will want closer to 1 month of recovery time.