Tips for Patients Preparing for Plastic Surgery

Congratulations! You’ve had your consultation with board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Lavinia K. Chong, and you have worked together to develop a surgical plan. You have scheduled a date for surgery, and now it’s time to prepare for your pre-operative appointment. At the time of your Pre-op appointment, you will be meeting with Dr. Chong and a member of her surgical team to review your surgical goals, your current health history, your surgical consents, and agreed-upon surgical plan. We thank you for inviting us along on your surgical journey!

Surgical Goals

What do you hope to achieve? In reviewing this question with Dr. Chong, you may be asked to email or bring in photos for review. For those patients having a face procedure, these may be photos of yourself from the past 10-30 years so that Dr. Chong may review your natural aging process. Breast implant patients may be asked to bring in photos of looks they like, photos that demonstrate the goal of size, shape, projection, and fullness. And for patients who are seeking body procedures following pregnancy or weight loss, we may ask that you bring in pre-pregnancy photos of yourself.

Current Health History

To ensure your safety and comfort during your upcoming treatment, you will be asked to provide an updated list of hospitalizations and surgeries during the pre-operative appointment. Please be sure to include any allergies or reactions to medications, along with a list of any history of cardiac, pulmonary, or vascular abnormalities or deficiencies. You will also be asked to provide an updated list of vaccinations, medications, OTC pain management, and supplements. Your smoking history will be reviewed, as will the results from your respiratory screening, lab work, and any relevant imaging or requested clearance.

Please note: Imaging and labs must be current (performed within six months of your surgery date), and must be available for Dr. Chong’s review the week prior to your Pre-operative appointment or three weeks prior to surgery (whichever is sooner). Any required testing or medical clearance which has not been performed by this date will be ordered for completion through one of our neighboring facilities in order to allow for timely receipt of results.

Imaging and labs required for clearance:

• • • Required labs include a comprehensive blood draw (CBC/CMP/HIV/Hepatitis).
    • EKG required for men (age 40 and over), and for women (age 50 and over).
    • Mammograms are required for women (age 40 and over) who are scheduled for breast surgery, or for women of any age with a history of breast cancer.
    • In select cases, upon review of your Current Health History, you may also be required to gain additional Pre-operative Clearance by a specialist to address cardiac abnormalities, hematology, or any other issue which may have the potential to adversely affect your surgical experience and/or surgical recovery process.

Prior to surgery, a member of your surgical team will be reviewing your health history. This review may be done via phone or video call, or your review may be completed in-person during your consultation or pre-operative appointment.

Please be prepared to discuss items listed on your Review of Systems Form. 

Three weeks prior to surgery:

Specimen Collection for Screening: A few weeks prior to your surgery, you will be scheduled for a quick office appointment. At this appointment, a specimen will be collected (via nasal swab) to test for the presence of bacteria in your system. The type of bacteria present (or an absence thereof) will determine the type of antibiotics which may be ordered during/following surgery. Once your specimen has been collected, you will deliver your swab to our neighboring lab for processing. Please note: we ask that you bring all lab work, relevant breast imaging, cardiac clearance with you when you come in for your specimen collection. 

Surgical Consents: You will receive copies of your surgical consents for review, prior to your Pre-operative appointment. There will be a separate consent for each procedure listed on your quote (a list of all surgical procedures offered may be found below). We ask that you take your time, and read through your surgical consents in their entirety. Once you have reviewed your consents, you may go ahead and initial all pages. Please remember to bring your consents with you to your Pre-operative appointment. We will review your consents during your appointment, you will be signing in-office, and we will be your witness.

If you have been emailed a copy of your consents to sign, you may print them at home and fill-in by hand. Or you may download DocuSign (for your laptop or desktop computer) or Adobe Fill & Sign (for your mobile device or tablet) and fill-in electronically. Your initialed consents may be returned to the office via fax (949) 644-5988 or email. 

Two weeks prior to surgery:

Pre-operative Appointment: This appointment is designed to give you the opportunity to review your surgical plan with Dr. Lavinia Chong, in-office at our private surgical suite in Newport Beach, Orange County. Please be advised of the following:

• • You may bring one (1) adult companion to this appointment, ideally someone who will be involved in assisting you during recovery (please note, they will be subject to the same screening as patients including travel restrictions, temperature checks, adherence to social distancing, and wearing a mask);
  • All laboratory and imaging results (including any Pre-op Clearance requested by Dr. Chong) must be available for review in order to receive clearance for surgery;
  • You will be asked to provide a list of ALL medications. This list should include all supplements (pill, natural herbal, or oil), and edibles you currently have at home (please have notated which you are currently taking, which you take only as needed, and the quantities and dosage of each available medication);
  • Dr. Chong will review your medications, and establish which medications will be prescribed for after surgery, as well as which of your current medications/supplements you are cleared to continue prior to and following surgery;
  • Your Pre and Post-operative Instructions will be reviewed, and all surgery and post-operative appointments will be confirmed.
  • Please inform your Pre-op team of any plans to travel (by car/plane/train/boat out of the county/state/country during the two weeks surrounding surgery). You will be required to have clearance from Dr. Chong to travel. If your current plans do not allow for sufficient Post-operative convalescence, you may be advised to reconsider your current scheduling.

Surgical Fees: Your surgical deposit is collected at the time of scheduling. The remainder of your surgical balance will be collected at the time of your Pre-op (or two weeks prior to surgery, whichever is sooner). Please feel free to reach out to a member of your Patient Care Team if you have any questions regarding financing and payments.

One week prior to surgery:

COVID-19 Screening: Surgical patients may be required to test for COVID-19 prior to surgery. If you have plans to receive a vaccination (Covid, Flu, Pneumonia, RSV, Shingles, etc.), please refrain from doing so during the two weeks before and two weeks after surgery. An electronic health screening may be completed and submitted prior to your pre-operative appointment, or you may visit the screening link when you receive your appointment reminder. Please keep the office up-to-date with any health changes or updates prior to all appointments (including your surgery date). Please note, testing is at the discretion of Dr. Chong. 

If at any time prior to (or following) surgery you have a question, please feel free to call the office, send us an email, or “Chat with Us” by clicking the chat icon on the bottom right hand corner of this screen, and someone will assist you as soon as possible. If texting, please text CONSENT to receive text communications (please note: encryption varies between mobile devices, and communication may be viewable by third parties). For immediate questions or concerns please call the office and follow the prompts.

Health History and Current Medications

List of Current Medication(s) and Supplement(s): please be prepared to submit this form for review at the time of your Pre-operative appointment with Dr. Chong. Be sure to include all medications (prescription and over-the-counter) available at home. For each medication on your list please designate dosage, and frequency (“daily”, “weekly”, “taking as needed”, or “no longer taking”). We ask that you also include any vitamins, dietary supplements, and recreational/medicinal herbal supplements and by what method (oral, inhaled, edible, or oil). During your appointment, you will be advised as to which medications/supplements to continue taking, and which you should refrain from using prior to and immediately following your procedure.

As we have transitioned into an eRx online prescription service, we ask that you ensure your most current pharmacy information has been provided. We will do our best to submit prescriptions to your preferred pharmacy. If your preferred pharmacy is unable to fill the prescription in a timely manner, we will forward the electronic eRx to the most convenient alternative pharmacy.

Request for Pre-operative Clearance: these items must be completed and submitted for review three weeks prior to surgery. If completing your labs with your primary care provider, please provide them with this list for review. If you do not have a primary care provider, or prefer to pay a negotiated cash price, we can provide you requisites for your lab work, nasal culture for respiratory screening, and EKG/imaging (as requested by Dr. Chong). 

Health History Update: in order to obtain surgical clearance, the health history on file must be current within the past three years. If updated forms have been requested, please complete them for Dr. Chong’s review and return them to the office as soon as possible.

Be Prepared to Discuss…

Please review the information contained in each link below. The following is provided in advance of your Pre-op so that you may take your time reviewing the information. Please be prepared to discuss with Dr. Chong at the time of your Pre-operative appointment. 

• Advanced Directive
• Consent for Anesthesia
• Prescription Medication Schedule
• Bowel Prep (Tummy Tuck patients)
• Drain Instructions (use based on procedure)
• Internal Fluid Management Worksheet (use based on procedure)
• COVID-19 Risk

Patient Resource Center

It is not uncommon for patients to have questions about how to prepare for their recovery. “Is there something I can take to reduce any bruising?” “Will I need compression garments for after surgery?” “What type of bra should I be looking for?” “Should I be sleeping in a special position?” “What’s a faja, and do I need one?” Please feel free to make a list of questions for your Pre-op. We will assist with determining the correct measurements for garments, and advise on anything which may assist your recovery process.

ArniCare: Pre & Post Procedure Arnica Pellets

Skincare Regimen: Pre & Post Skincare Recommendations

Shapewear: Post-surgical Garments for Face, Body, and Breast

Leo & Leonisa: Post-surgical Garments for Men & Post-surgical Garments for Women

Design Veronique: Post-surgical Garments for Face, Body, and Breast

Make Me Heal Online Post-Surgical Store:

• Men’s Compression Garments
• Post-surgical Pillows
• Post-surgical Breast
• Post-Surgical Tummy Tuck
• Post-surgical Compression Garments

List of Services: Face Procedures

Lip Lift

Brow Lift

Renuvion

Neck Lift (Cervicoplasty)

Face Lift (Rhytidectomy)

Face & Neck Left (Rhytidectomy with Cervicoplasty)

Fat Grafting/Transfer to the Face

Eyelid Lift (Blepharoplasty)

Submental Liposuction

Buccal Fat Removal

Otoplasty

List of Services: Breast & Body Procedures

Renuvion

Arm Lift (Brachioplasty)

Gynecomastia Surgery (Men)

Breast Reduction (Women)

ADM: Acellular Dermal Matrix (Strattice)

Mesh: GalaFORM/GalaShape/GalaFlex or Durasorb

Breast Implant Removal (Explantation)

Breast Implant Saline Deflation

Breast Lift (Mastopexy)

Fat Grafting/Transfer

Dorsal Roll Lift (a.k.a. Bra Lift)

Body Contouring (Liposuction w/Surgical Procedure)

Mommy Makeover (Breast Surgery w/Tummy Tuck)

Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)

Panniculectomy 

Puboplasty

List of Services: Breast Implant Procedures (Saline)

Breast Augmentation (Saline)

Breast Implant Exchange (using Saline Implants)

Breast Implant Exchange with Capsulectomy (using Saline Implants)

List of Services: Breast Implant Procedures (Silicone)

Breast Augmentation (Silicone)

Breast Implant Exchange (using Silicone Implants)

Breast Implant Exchange with Capsulectomy (using Silicone Implants)

Please feel free to reach out with any questions, (949) 644-1400!