Choosing your ideal surgery date is no easy feat. If you’ve decided to go ahead with your cosmetic surgery procedure, but you’re not sure when might be a good time, we might be able to help. The right date to undergo surgery is different for everybody. You may be preparing for a significant event such as a wedding, birthday, holiday or reunion, or you may be restricted by work, life commitments or other responsibilities including childcare. This article will help you decide on the best surgery date for you, as well as provide some helpful suggestions if you’re considering surgery but are unsure about what time of year may be ideal.
Whether it’s the event of a lifetime or something smaller, you may consider cosmetic surgery to help you look and feel your best. Our advice? Plan ahead! Booking a surgery date isn’t always straightforward and may require some extra planning. You’ll need to allow enough time following your initial consultation with your Specialist Plastic Surgeon for:
If you’re hoping to have your surgery in time for a specific event or date, planning for potential delays is essential. You will also need to allow time for your post-surgery recovery to be complete.
During your initial consultation with your chosen Specialist Plastic Surgeon, you will be given an approximate recovery time. Although a recommended recovery time is provided, it’s recommended that you plan beyond this to account for any delays. This is especially true if you’re planning your surgery around a particular date. Here’s our advice:
Remember, it’s not just you and your surgeon alone on this journey together. The hospital that your surgeon is accredited for also plays a role in determining your surgery date. Hospital theatre lists work on a 4-week rotating roster and are determined by the hospital. In order for you to secure your ideal surgery date, the hospital needs to have the necessary resources available on that day.
Once you’ve decided to go ahead with surgery, our practice team may be able to secure your day of surgery. However, we’re usually not able to confirm the time of day it will be performed until 4-7 days prior. Each booking will need to be confirmed by the hospital prior to you receiving your finalised booking details.
If you have a particular surgery date in mind, always be sure to ask your surgeon if they’re planning any breaks, holidays or trips away. Many surgeons regularly attend conferences, so there are often small gaps throughout the year where they are unable to operate. As well as taking holidays and attending conferences, a Surgeon’s operating list may fill up in advance.
To ensure that you can book the date you want, it’s advised that you start enquiring as early as possible. You may be able to get in for surgery before your surgeon heads off to a conference or other commitment.
Specific times of the year have advantages and disadvantages depending on your situation. Do you have prior commitments? Employment requirements? Dependent children or pets? A support team for your recovery?
Deciding when to undergo surgery revolves around you only!
This will differ for everyone, but there are some common trends that may attract you to a particular surgery date. You may opt for surgery during the Christmas break as you can use this leave for your recovery time. There are also many public holidays around this time of year that have the same benefit.
For some, recovering from surgery during winter may also be a good option. Of course, the time of year is all dependent on you and your individual commitments. Here are some pros and cons of undergoing surgery during the Summer and Winter seasons:
If you have children, you may decide to undergo surgery during school holidays so you can avoid the school drop off while you recover.
Alternatively, it may be preferable to plan your surgery outside of the school holidays. This way, you won’t need to organise child care during the day and you’ll also get a little peace and quiet while your children are at school.
Before booking your surgery date, you should check with your employer if you are able to take time off over that specific period. Any important meetings, work trips or contractual obligations should be considered when planning for your surgery.
If you have a few specific surgery dates in mind, be sure to run these by your employer. Alternatively, if your job is quite busy all year round, you may choose to discuss a preferred leave period that would work best for both yourself and your employer.
It’s up to you whether you would like to inform your employer or work colleagues about your chosen surgery. If you don’t feel comfortable telling your manager or colleagues about your surgery, do not feel obliged to go into any specific detail about your leave. You can simply advise that you would like to take annual leave for a break or for personal/medical reasons.
Ensure that you fill out a leave form and have approval in writing so that there is no confusion regarding your requested leave dates.
If you have just started a new job, you may be reluctant to ask for time off. Be sure to take into account any ‘busy periods’ at work and factor this in when considering surgery and your chosen surgery date.
Honesty is always the best policy. So, be up-front with your employer and let them know as soon as possible. This gives them plenty of time to make any necessary arrangements for the business whilst you are away.
Before considering your surgery date, you should first decide upon your post-surgery support team. Consider the following:
We suggest that you ask a friend or family member to be your ‘carer’ for at least the first 2-3 days following your surgery. If you have children, you may need to organise for your spouse, friend or carer to take your kids to and from school and to any additional activities.
Although you may have organised a friend or family member to care for you following surgery, you may want to look at hiring a house cleaner to help for the first few weeks following your procedure. Cleaning the house can often be a big and time-consuming task which you may not feel up to initially. Remember you need to take it easy!
What will you do with your pets? Pets require care as well as children. If you have a pet at home, you may consider having them looked after by a friend, family member or professional pet carer during your initial recovery period.
As you can see, planning is essential! Many of us have a variety of commitments, people, pets and homes that require our care and consideration.
When it comes to considering surgery and finding the ideal surgery date, it is important to consider the other people in your life and ensure you are well prepared for your recovery period. This will help to ensure your surgery and recovery are as smooth as possible and you have less to worry about in the days and weeks following your procedure.
Once you’ve considered the above and decided on your ideal surgery date, contact us to book your consultation with Specialist Plastic Surgeon Dr Doyle.
Dr Mark Doyle is a Specialist Plastic Surgeon with over thirty years of experience performing Breast, Body, Face and Nose surgery. Dr Doyle is a fully qualified Specialist Plastic Surgeon with 30+ years of experience. He has completed all required training and only carries out approved surgical practices. There are absolutely NO undertrained doctors or cosmetic doctors acting as surgeons in our clinic.
As a highly esteemed plastic surgeon, Dr Mark is committed to achieving the best possible results for all his breast, body, face and nose patients, both men and women.