Liposuction Patients Want Warmth in the O.R.
Virtually all patients everywhere dislike cold medical facilities. Many liposuction patients frequently ask “Why is it always so cold in there?” In short, it is for your safety.
In a blog post titled Cold Comfort , surgeon Sidney Schwab, M.D. tells how surgeons can become warm and even overheated because of overhead lights, waterproof surgical gowns — that are like wearing plastic– and of course body heat from working and focusing on the procedure at hand.
Excess heat can make surgeons drowsy, which can impact the quality of the results.
But above all, the surgeon does not want to become overheated and perspire. Why? Well. What’s wrong with a “brow wet from honest sweat” anyhow? One New Zealand plastic surgeon wrote an article about a study on how the operative field can become contaminated by a surgeon who sweats. Many additional medical studies had similar findings.
But..
Medically speaking, being too chilly is not good for liposuction, face lift, breast augmentation or other cosmetic and plastic surgery patients.
St. Louis plastic surgeon V. Leroy Young, M.D. wrote an article for the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, a professional publication for plastic surgeons. In it, Dr. Young noted that chilly cosmetic and plastic surgery patients risk:
- Infection
- Excess bleeding
- Possibly compromised immune systems
- Possible slower healing
The Solution?
Surgeons have ways of keeping patients warm while leaving the O.R. cool. One way is through a bair hugger. Thoughtful doctors will also warm fluids before injecting them.
Moreover, plastic surgeons want their patients to sail through the rejuvenation process because patients who have one good experience with plastic surgery are more likely to return for more.
What about you? Have you ever been chilly in a doctor’s office or an O.R? Leave a comment!
California Surgical Institute @ November 18, 2008