I'm finding that we receive many of the same questions into our blog regularly. Although many of these questions are addressed specifically the before/after sections for each procedure, I get the feeling that perhaps readers prefer to obtain such information in one click. Top of the list of the most frequently asked questions is whether the use of a heating pad or ice pack after cosmetic surgery is effective for the reduction of pain.
Let me first address ... If the heat application is better than getting cosmetic surgery. While heating pads are common home remedies for a number of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders, pads are not recommended during convalescence from cosmetic surgery. A normal part of any surgical procedure is swelling, bruising and pain. Swelling of the skin and subcutaneous tissues not only reduces the feeling, but it also makes your skin more susceptible to injury.
Nothing feels better when you have a painful muscular strain, an localized heating pad applied to the area. It goes a long way in a spasm of the muscle to relax and relieve pain. But we must proceed with caution after cosmetic surgery. Small nerves are damaged during surgery, which leaves you with temporary numbness around the surgical site. So you can imagine what happens when you put a warm heating pad on these areas. It is impossible for you to determine the exact temperature of the pad. Normally when the pad get too hot for comfort, remove it. This is a natural defense mechanism, which is temporarily lost as a result of surgery. The skin is insensitive and likely to be burned fairly easily.
I saw terrible scars when patients unfortunately have chosen to use heating pads following cosmetic surgery. Educate my patients not to use heating pads because of the risk of burns and scars. This risk may be present and last for six months after surgery during the recovery process.
How about using ice packs to control pain after cosmetic surgery for the nose? This response is not as straight forward, because the answer is a Yes "qualified". Using ice bags after surgery is a commonly recommended practice to reduce postoperative pain, swelling and bruising. The application of cold or just above the freezing temperature (0 c or 32F) is a safe and effective way to help the healing and swelling phase. I recommend patients use ice sealed in plastic bags, such as Ziploc style bags, filled with water and ice for this purpose. It is very important to make sure there is water (liquid) in the bag, because this ensures that the temperature of the ice is at or above the freezing temperature of water.
My patients report that nothing feels better the cooling effect of the ice after intervention of breast enlargement. In addition to feeling good, helps reduce the need for Narcotic analgesics. However, we must also be careful with the temperature of cold application. The same risks are present with regard to heat and cold. Similarly, patients are able to hear the alarm signals for any damage due to improper use of cold compresses.
Ice, gel pads and bagged frozen vegetables applied directly from the freezer are well below zero, are too cold and are not suitable. If these are applied to the skin, which is insensitive and susceptible to injury, can cause freezing and scarring. Therefore, do not recommend their use. An important exception to any application of ice after cosmetic surgery is following fat graft procedures, because the cold is particularly detrimental to the survival of grafts. For this reason we do not recommend the use of ice after breast enlargement or natural Facial rejuvenation using FAT graft technique.
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