Surgical Healing Times
This photo is a classic view of Yosemite with El Capitan on the left (north) and Half Dome peeking over the right upper corner.
How long do my breast implants, liposuction, facelift, or other surgeries take to heal?
I’ve just had liposuction in Dr. Yoho’s Los Angeles office, how long do I have to wait to be “normal” again?
The answer: Los Angeles liposuction is no different than anywhere, and while things can look great right away, there’s a rule of thumb that soft tissue takes at LEAST four months to soften, improve and normalize. Darker skin types--which may be stronger incidentally--also have a tendency to complete the healing cycle over a longer period, and possibly scar more. We have treatments for this. TRY to be patient. Despite all the warnings and disclaimers and education we try to provide for our patients in Visalia / Fresno / Los Angeles getting liposuction and other types of procedures, we always have people who think their result should be perfect RIGHT NOW. This is one of my biggest frustrations as a surgeon. Cosmetic surgeries are often a work in progress. Complications happen (see “What’s the worst that can happen” chapter on Dr. Yoho’s book at http://www.dryoho.com/dr-yoho-book/chapter14-1.cfm). We don’t have a magic wand! We promise to work with you until we are satisfied that we have the best result we think is possible. Again, be patient… Don’t panic when things aren’t just right. We do not desert our patients!
I learned about healing the hard way. I broke my ankle trying to climb El Capitan in a day. See ** below for the story about how a 55 year old man (me) was trying to recover his lost youth by climbing things he should leave to the young dudes. That was June 2008, and it still hurts in July 2009. I found out that for bony injuries, it can take TWO YEARS for things to be the best they will be. Soft tissue surgical recovery doesn’t take as long but it can be many months.
**Dr. Yoho Breaks His Ankle Trying to Climb El Capitan in 24 hours
In June 2008, Dr. Yoho tried to climb El Capitan in Yosemite (3300 feet high and nearly vertical) with his friend Chris Gonzalez, MD. About 15 per cent of the way into the climb, he took an unexpected swing into a corner and broke his left talus (ankle) bone. Chris (52 years old at the time; Dr. Yoho was 55) helped Dr. Yoho slide down the ropes to the ground and then assisted as he crawled to the road, a half mile away.
Dr. Yoho and Dr. Gonzalez have climbed El Capitan before in 27 hours in 2007, but they were trying to beat the 24-hour mark. If they do, they would be the oldest climbing team ever to do this. For more information at DrYoho.com, see http://www.dryoho.com/dr-yoho/yogo-method.cfm.
I’ve just had liposuction in Dr. Yoho’s Los Angeles office, how long do I have to wait to be “normal” again?
The answer: Los Angeles liposuction is no different than anywhere, and while things can look great right away, there’s a rule of thumb that soft tissue takes at LEAST four months to soften, improve and normalize. Darker skin types--which may be stronger incidentally--also have a tendency to complete the healing cycle over a longer period, and possibly scar more. We have treatments for this. TRY to be patient. Despite all the warnings and disclaimers and education we try to provide for our patients in Visalia / Fresno / Los Angeles getting liposuction and other types of procedures, we always have people who think their result should be perfect RIGHT NOW. This is one of my biggest frustrations as a surgeon. Cosmetic surgeries are often a work in progress. Complications happen (see “What’s the worst that can happen” chapter on Dr. Yoho’s book at http://www.dryoho.com/dr-yoho-book/chapter14-1.cfm). We don’t have a magic wand! We promise to work with you until we are satisfied that we have the best result we think is possible. Again, be patient… Don’t panic when things aren’t just right. We do not desert our patients!
I learned about healing the hard way. I broke my ankle trying to climb El Capitan in a day. See ** below for the story about how a 55 year old man (me) was trying to recover his lost youth by climbing things he should leave to the young dudes. That was June 2008, and it still hurts in July 2009. I found out that for bony injuries, it can take TWO YEARS for things to be the best they will be. Soft tissue surgical recovery doesn’t take as long but it can be many months.
**Dr. Yoho Breaks His Ankle Trying to Climb El Capitan in 24 hours
In June 2008, Dr. Yoho tried to climb El Capitan in Yosemite (3300 feet high and nearly vertical) with his friend Chris Gonzalez, MD. About 15 per cent of the way into the climb, he took an unexpected swing into a corner and broke his left talus (ankle) bone. Chris (52 years old at the time; Dr. Yoho was 55) helped Dr. Yoho slide down the ropes to the ground and then assisted as he crawled to the road, a half mile away.
Dr. Yoho and Dr. Gonzalez have climbed El Capitan before in 27 hours in 2007, but they were trying to beat the 24-hour mark. If they do, they would be the oldest climbing team ever to do this. For more information at DrYoho.com, see http://www.dryoho.com/dr-yoho/yogo-method.cfm.
