Dr Marc Illa
GENERAL QUESTIONS
We operate in four centers:
In Barcelona (Clínica Diagonal/ Wm Hospital), and in Vic (Vic General University Hospital/Vic Clinic).
We perform the most complex surgeries at the Clínica Diagonal in Barcelona, with exclusive private activity, and at the General University Hospital of Vic, which combines public and private activity. Both centres have high-level operating theatres and post-surgical areas and all the equipment and legal requirements necessary to be able to perform even high-level major surgery. We cannot conceive of operating without offering maximum safety to our patients. In both centres we have an intensive care unit, with medical and nursing staff on call 24 hours a day and with all the technology (CT, MRI, capacity to perform urgent analyses...) that we need to guarantee the safety of our patients.
Surgeries with a lower risk of complications or those that are outpatient without admission are performed at the Wm Hospital in Barcelona or at the Clínica de Vic due to the greater flexibility and efficiency of the operating rooms for this type of surgery.
It is very important to confirm the therapeutic plan (including the surgery plan to be performed, pre- and postoperative treatments), either in a new visit or having already done so in the first visit. In this sense, you should also have resolved all your doubts regarding the therapeutic option decided in your case. Do not hold back, we are here to resolve them all. Before surgery, you must sign the informed consent. We will explain in detail all the risks involved in surgery, how you can try to avoid them in your personalized case, and therapeutic alternatives with their pros and cons.
In the days before admission We will ask you to undergo a series of tests, commonly known as “complete preoperative”. This includes a complete blood test, an electrocardiogram and a chest X-ray. This way, we will know your state of health down to the last detail in order to perform the surgery in optimal conditions.
Cosmetic surgery and many of the reconstructive surgeries that we plastic surgeons perform must be carried out under the safest conditions possible, since there is no need to rush to perform them and they can be planned in the right way, in the right place and at the right time to obtain the best possible results and with the utmost safety, minimising the risks to your health as much as possible. It is also advisable, from the age of 40 (or from the age of 35 if you have a personal history or several family members who have suffered from breast cancer) to have a preoperative mammogram or breast ultrasound.
You should refrain from taking preparations containing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or preparations containing vitamin E at least 15 days before the operation, as they can promote postoperative bleeding and the formation of hematomas (accumulations of blood) in the postoperative period. It is also necessary to avoid infusions or herbal preparations. It is advisable to stop smoking ideally two months before the operation and two months after it. The more days before the operation you give up smoking, the less risk of complications we will have. Each cigarette is like buying a lottery ticket to get a complication. We have to go into the operating room with the minimum number of tickets. If this is not possible, our recommendation is to reduce it a lot.
You can haver dinner, lunch and drink until 12 midnight the day before. and from then on you will not be able to eat solids or liquids until after the intervention. This is very important to be able to perform the intervention safely.
On the day of the procedure you will not be able to apply facial or body beauty lotions or creams, makeup, lipstick, eyeliner, nail polish, etc.
Each case is different and we adapt to the characteristics of the patient in a personalized way. The normal thing is to have a visit approximately one week, one month, three or six months after surgery. We always make a final visit, usually one year after surgery, to resolve any final doubts and give the final instructions. From then on, the result is completely stable and will no longer require visits to the doctor unless you have new doubts. You will be free to return whenever you want.
We would love to be able to make changes to people without leaving scars. But we are not magicians, we are people of flesh and blood who have trained, with a lot of passion for what we do, to make them as small, hidden and fine as possible. But we have to carry out the intervention somewhere.
We will give you instructions on how to best treat postoperative wounds and scars so that you get the best possible result in your case. Following our instructions is vitally important for this.
Hypertrophic scars and keloid scars are very rare. In most cases we do not know why they appear. There are areas of the body that tend to generate keloids, such as the sternum or the back. There are people who are genetically more predisposed. They are related to having suffered infection or excessive bleeding during the postoperative period. The reality is that we cannot know the cause of their appearance. We will continue postoperative follow-up visits to indicate the personalized medical treatment for the scars in each specific case, and in case hypertrophic scars and keloids appear, we have different weapons to counterattack them.
All surgeries considered cosmetic can only be performed on persons of legal age, that is, from the age of 18. In the case of surgeries considered reconstructive, such as protruding ears, very asymmetrical or tuberous breasts, congenital facial or body malformations, reconstruction of problems following trauma or scar repair, they can be performed on minors, always with the consent of the parents or legal guardians.
There is no guarantee of results for any surgical intervention. Each body is a world. The exact same surgery can be performed, in the same place and with the same medical-surgical team on two different people and we would ALWAYS obtain the same results (which does not mean that one is better than the other). Even over time, on the same patient, we can perform the same surgery and we would also obtain different results (everyone's body changes over time). We are talking about medicine, therefore, a specific result can never be offered and successful results are not obtained in all cases. And the final assessment is subjective, which fundamentally depends on the patient's prior expectations. What we can offer is all the surgical skills and all the updated scientific knowledge of medicine and plastic surgery so that you obtain the best possible result, with the minimum risks and maximum safety.
The objective of any cosmetic surgery is to achieve an aesthetic improvement for the patient that improves their self-perception, self-confidence and appearance. Even so, this improvement may not be enough and the expectations of the change are not what can be achieved, so it is important to be completely honest with what you want to achieve from the first visit, so that, if it is not possible to achieve it, the doctor can explain it to us in detail. All aesthetic changes must always be carried out in a way that is harmonious with the rest of the body, in accordance with the interests of the patient and in relation to their size and body constitution. The objective must be to improve, not to seek perfection, since it is not possible to achieve it.
