How well you heal after surgery is only partly about the operation. Several things within your control in the weeks beforehand measurably affect your risk of complications, and they are worth taking seriously rather than treating as generic advice.

Smoking is the single biggest modifiable risk

Nicotine constricts the small blood vessels that supply healing skin. That matters most in procedures where skin is lifted and redraped, such as a facelift, a neck lift, abdominoplasty or breast reduction, because the skin at the edge of a wound depends on a marginal blood supply to survive.

Smoking raises the risk of wound breakdown, infection, skin loss and poor scarring, and it is a common reason a surgeon will decline to operate until someone has stopped. Vaping and nicotine replacement carry the same vascular effect. Dr Maryam will tell you how long she wants you off nicotine before and after your particular procedure.

Medication and supplements that affect bleeding

Bring a full list to your consultation, including anything you buy without a prescription. These commonly need adjusting or pausing:

• Aspirin and anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen and naproxen.
• Prescribed blood thinners. Never stop these on your own, they are adjusted in consultation with the doctor who prescribed them.
• Fish oil, vitamin E, garlic, ginkgo, ginseng and turmeric in supplement doses.
• Some weight loss and diabetes medications, which affect fasting and anaesthetic planning.

Weight, nutrition and general health

Contouring procedures give a more predictable result when your weight has been stable for several months, because the operation reshapes what is there rather than anticipating future change. Well-controlled blood sugar, adequate protein and treating any iron deficiency beforehand all support healing. If you have sleep apnoea, diabetes or a heart condition, those are worth optimising with your GP before you book rather than after.

Practical preparation

• Arrange time away from work honestly, allowing for the longer end of the range you are given.
• Organise someone to drive you home and, for the first day or two, to be around.
• Fill prescriptions and buy dressings, ice packs and any garment before your surgery date.
• Prepare food in advance, and set up somewhere to sleep with your head elevated if that has been advised.
• Stop shaving or waxing the surgical area in the days beforehand, to reduce the chance of skin infection.

After you go home

Walk early and often, in short bursts, because it reduces the risk of blood clots. Follow the wound care instructions you are given rather than what you read elsewhere, protect scars from the sun for at least a year, and attend your review appointments even if everything feels fine.

Contact the practice rather than waiting if you notice increasing pain, spreading redness, fever, unusual swelling on one side, or calf pain or breathlessness. The last two need urgent assessment.

Recovery differs between people and between procedures, so the timeframes that apply to you will be set out at your consultation. To arrange one in Paddington, Sydney, call 1300 067 668.