Traveling for surgery worked out very well for these patients, but it is important to plan ahead. To make things as safe and smooth as possible, we created a program to coordinate the process.

The P.S.C. Plastic Surgery Transformation Vacation� includes several steps:

• First we have to decide if someone is a candidate for surgery. This is best accomplished in person by consulting with our surgeon. Sometimes we can schedule surgery on the same trip. Other times it works best to schedule a trip in the future for surgery. On occasion we use digital photos to begin the process, but we must always see our patients before the day we do a procedure.
• The post-surgery recuperation must be coordinated. Sometimes this means arranging a night or two at a specialized recovery center staffed by nurses. Other times it means booking a comfortable nearby hotel. Our staff has a lot of experience arranging this around different needs and tastes, so we make this step quite easy.
• We must plan how long to stay in town after surgery. This varies by the procedure performed and the person�s age and other factors. For people flying into town this is usually between five and fourteen days.
• We must arrange for any necessary lab work to be done prior to surgery. Sometimes it is easiest to do this at home, or we often do it here in our office.
• We take extra time educating traveling patients about the nature of their recovery including how long to take off from work, what to expect in terms of body changes and reaction to surgery, and when to resume various activities. This works to minimize surprises upon returning home.
• We ask our traveling patients to have access to a family doctor at home, so if something needs evaluation they have someone to visit and with whom our surgeon can speak.
• We encourage our traveling patients to plan on doing some non-strenuous activities while in town. Having fun helps recovery go faster and easier. Our staff works as a concierge to make plans for restaurants, daytime activities, and shopping so the trip becomes a vacation as well as a surgery experience.

The P.S.C. Plastic Surgery Transformation Vacation� works to give our traveling patients the safest possible experience � while also showing them a good time as our out-of-town guests.