Plastic surgery procedures vary greatly in complexity. Some procedures may be performed in a physician’s office, clinic or hospital on an outpatient basis. Many procedures may use only a local anesthetic, which numbs just a specific area of the body. In these cases, the patient remains conscious, although they may receive a sedative to keep them calm during the surgery. Other times the surgeon uses a general anesthetic so the patient is unconscious for the surgery. The length of time required for the actual surgery depends on the type of procedure.

For most procedures, the surgeon makes one or more incisions and moves the skin and modifies or removes tissue, often fat. Implants are positioned under the skin where desired. Incisions are made in less conspicuous areas, especially for facial surgeries. For facelifts, incisions may be made above the hairline and behind the ears. For some nose surgeries (rhinoplasties), the incision may be made inside the nose. Some surgeries involve multiple areas, such as moving skin with hair from the back of the head to the top. Skin graft surgeries may involve removing skin from a donor site and moving it to the repair site. Surgeons carefully suture the incisions to minimize scarring and follow natural lines of the skin when possible.

After surgery, patients will have a recovery period, which may involve swelling, bruising, pain, itching and numbness. The length of recovery time varies by procedure and by patient. Plastic surgery procedures have many of the same postoperative restrictions as other surgeries, which may limit a patient’s diet, and ability to drive, lift objects or walk stairs. The amount of missed work or school can range anywhere from one day to over a month. Some facial surgery patients may need to limit their sun exposure for several months.