A recent report from the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) recommended surgery during the fall and winter months. To summarize, they mention 3 reasons to have non-surgical or surgical procedures during the fall/winter.
1) If you’re having a procedure that requires postop garments, such as a tummy tuck, it’s easier to wear these extra layers of clothing when it’s cooler outside
2) You may have more holiday time off to recover around Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s
3) The gift of plastic surgery! Non-surgical gifts are common and a great way to “gift” a loved one around Christmas
Additional benefits of plastic surgery during the winter pertain to recovering well before you go to the beach in the spring or summer.
For example, if you have a breast augmentation, tummy tuck, or skin rejuvenation with a chemical peel or laser, you need several months to allow the skin to heal. Particularly with surgery, you want to keep your scars out of sunlight so they don’t darken. Scar darkening can be easily overcome by avoiding sunlight during the winter or using sunscreen over your scars when you can’t avoid the sunlight. Obviously most of your scars from surgery will be covered by a bathing suit but some sunlight is still able to penetrate the fabric.
For patients that have had skin rejuvenation with a deep chemical peel or laser, too much sunlight soon after your procedure can be a major problem. Sun can inhibit healing to freshly-peeled skin and lead to pigment irregularities. So consider having these skin procedures during the winter. And above all, use suncreen everyday – not just on vacation, but everyday – to protect your skin.
You can learn more about procedures, pricing and the board-certified/board eligible plastic surgeons that provide these procedures by going to buildmybod.com.
