Car fanatics go to trade shows, comic book lovers go to Comic Con… I watch Botched. Being the owner of an aftercare facility, I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I have heard my clients say, “I can’t imagine going home like this,” or, “I’m so glad I came to your facility.”

Although plastic surgery aftercare has been around for decades, I realize that aftercare is a growing idea in the Pasadena area. But my goal of spreading the importance of aftercare to the San Gabriel Valley was further driven home after watching episode of botched. I realize that most people watch the show to see the before and after. I, on the other hand, like to look between the before and after.

A woman came to see the doctors of Botched, Dr. Terry Dubrow, and Dr. Paul Nassif, after a tummy tuck had gone wrong. In all actuality there was nothing wrong with the procedure itself but everything went wrong in the recovery phase. During the consultation Dr. Dubrow, in shock, asked very simple question to the patient.

“They sent you home after a tummy tuck? They didn’t see you the next day? You didn’t go to a recovery facility?”
Those questions are the reason why the “between the before and after” is so important to me. If this woman had gone to an after care facility following her procedure, a trained nurse could have immediately spotted the signs of pending infection, the nurse would have seen the necrotic tissue and acted as the advocate for the patient.

Instead this patient went through months of fist sized holes in her stomach, multiple surgeries, and ended up looking worse off than before she had undergone the procedure. She would have never been botched.

Patients always thoroughly research what procedure to have and which surgeon to go to. But unfortunately, the all-important phase of recovery is often overlooked.

After watching that episode, I found myself asking a lot of questions. What if that patient was aware of the importance of aftercare? What if she knew the benefit of having a skilled cosmetic surgery nurse at her side? Would she have been happy with her results? Would she only have had to endure the standard 6 weeks of recovery rather than a year? What was the emotional toll that it took on her and her husband?

Was it worth skipping aftercare?

…And would it be worth it to you?

For more information about Trinity Aftercare, call (626) 585-6471 or visit trinityaftercare.com.