Vitamins for Plastic Surgery

More people take some sort of multi-vitamin or herbal supplement but very few think to disclose their vitamins to their doctor and anesthesiologist prior to their surgery. After all, they're just vitamins, they don't count as a medication right? Wrong!

You may not have given much thought to this but herbs, and products that contain them, are packaged as nutritional supplements and will not provide warnings, dosage information or suggested usage instructions. As a result, many people incorrectly assume that a "natural" medicines are inherently safer than a pharmaceutical drug.

This is not only untrue; it's an assumption that can be dangerous if a person is facing any surgery, whether it's plastic surgery or not. Many people planning plastic surgery surgery fail to disclose their herbal supplement use out of fear of being ridiculed by their doctor. (Who would think that licorice could be dangerous?)The fact is, your doctors want and need to know what you are taking to ensure your safe recovery.

Below is a list of some commonly taken supplements that can interfere with your plastic surgery. How? Some cause post-surgical bleeding, worsen Inflammation, raise blood pressure or alter your sugar levels. The best advice is to quit all herbal supplements three weeks prior to your plastic surgery procedure. If in doubt, don't take it. 

Herbs and Vitamins That Can Interfere with Plastic Surgery (and all other surgeries too!): 

• Any Diet Pills or herb blends designed to control appetite
• Aspirin, Motrin, Advil or other blood thinners
• Vitamin E
• Chromium
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Ginkgo
• Goldenseal
• Flaxseed
• Fish oil
• Echinacea
• Licorice
• Saw Palmetto
• Ephedra
• Ginseng
• Feverfew
• Kava-Kava
• St. John's Wort
• Valerian Root

There are some recommended vitamins for plastic surgery as well as some herbal supplements that can aid post-surgical healing and reduce bruising. This is what we prescribe.

Vitamins for Plastic Surgery: Start three weeks before your procedure

• Clinical Support Multi vitamins for Plastic Surgery- We have some in our store specifically designed for patients pre- and post-surgery that contain everything you need and none of what you don't. $44

• Probiotics help minimize constipation, which is one of the most common side-effects from taking pain medication after surgery. New research is showing that not only do Probiotics improve intestinal health but they also may help boost the immune system. We are now recommending that our patients start on Probiotics at the same time they start their clinical vitamins. $40
   
• Arnica or Bromelain, depending on the procedure, to help minimize bruising, swelling, muscle aches and soreness. (One is included in your surgical recovery kit which you get at your pre-op appointment. Don't take if you are lactose intolerant.)

• Body lift patients start ProCare powder supplement to address nutritional deficiencies after gastric bypass surgery. (This is included in your surgical recovery kit.)

Medical Vitamins for Plastic Surgery

All the vitamins we carry in our store are from Vitamedica, a company that only uses pharmaceutical grade ingredients, as opposed to the "dietary supplement" ingredients and labs you find on the shelves of your grocery store. These drug standards have a higher level of scrutiny compared with those used in the dietary supplement industry. Each of their facilities is routinely inspected by the FDA. If you are interested, we have a document on file which certifies their authenticity.

Since inception, all of their products including the vitamins for plastic surgery, have been made in two facilities that are licensed to produce drugs, using manufacturing practices that parallel those adopted by the drug industry. That’s why we offer their products to our patients.

Note:

Many of our patients liked their surgical vitamins so much that they asked us how to get more of Vitamedica's vitamins after their surgery. So we decided to carry their line of everyday vitamins. In our store, we also have

• Daily Support AM/PM vitamins $37 (This is what the staff all takes.)
• Anti-Aging formula $55 (Dr. Reath likes this one.)
• Healthy Skin Formula $25 
• Clear Skin, a formula specifically designed for acne patients $42.

Injectable Treatments