Getting Ready for your Procedure

• If possible, avoid medications and supplements that may thin your blood. This includes aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, Vitamin E, and fish oil.
• Do not smoke for two weeks prior to and two weeks after surgery. Nicotine and tobacco smoke delay healing and can result in scarring or infection.
• If anesthesia is used, arrange to have someone drive you home from surgery and stay with you for at least 24 hours after the procedure.

Shopping List

1. Vaseline or Aquaphor ointment
2. Tylenol (acetaminophen) for pain

The day before Surgery

• Do not eat or drink anything, including water, the morning of surgery. Essential medications may be taken with a sip of water only by the doctor’s order.
• Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothes that button or zip. Avoid slipover clothing.
• Leave your valuables at home; do not wear jewelry or piercings.
• Avoid all make-up, hairspray, and nail polish.
• Do not wear contacts, ok to wear glasses if needed.

Post-Operative Care

• Do NOT drink anything hot until sensation returns to the lips.
• Apply a thin layer of Aquaphor or Vasoline ointment three times daily for the first week.
• You may apply an ice bag covered with a clean towel or washcloth.
• Keep incisions out of the shower for the first 48 hours. You may wash the rest of your face with a washcloth.
• You will follow up in the office 1 week after surgery. At that time your stiches will be removed.
• Avoid any food that requires tall bites (Big Mac) for the first week.
• Brush your teeth gently.
• Sunscreen should be applied to the external scars starting 2-3 weeks after surgery. It is important to protect your scars for up to a year to prevent discoloration from the sun.

Please call our office at any time with questions or concerns you may have, even if it is after hours. You may call our main line at 402.739.8144 and you will be directed to the on-call nurse. In case of emergency, call 911 or go to an ER.