What To Expect

At DeLuca Plastic Surgery, we believe that your comfort and confidence are integral to living the best possible life. We specialize in cosmetic surgery of the face, breasts, and body, and we offer injectable fillers as well. Dr. DeLuca and Dr. Tauber are board-certified surgeons with years of cosmetic surgery knowledge and experience to help you achieve your desired look.

Our doctors know that considering plastic surgery is a big decision, and they strive to provide patients with a safe and relaxed atmosphere to discuss their surgical options. Dr. DeLuca and Dr. Tauber take pride in making themselves available to answer any questions you may have regarding your procedure.

What Can a Patient Expect During A Consultation?

When you meet with Dr. DeLuca or Dr. Tauber for your initial consultation, you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the surgical procedure you are considering. You will receive a full medical exam and will discuss your medical history, including any pre-existing conditions, allergies, surgical history, and family history.

Your doctor will also want to photograph the area of your body to help project what your body will look like post-surgery. Photos taken before and after plastic surgery are helpful for displaying the transformation process.

During your consultation, you will have an opportunity to discuss general expectations from your surgery to ensure that you are aware of what can and cannot be achieved with the procedure.

What Can an Out-Of-Town Patient Expect?

DeLuca Plastic Surgery receives many out-of-state and international patients each year. Depending on the procedure, our out-of-town patients typically stay in the Albany area until their follow-up appointment before returning home.

Patients traveling to our offices from out-of-state or internationally often stay in the Albany area for 3 to 14 days for recovery and their follow-up appointment. More extensive surgeries, such as tummy tucks, tuberous breast correction, and mommy makeovers can require more extensive recovery periods, which may require a patient to stay for 8 to 14 days.

DeLuca Plastic Surgery is pleased to offer virtual consultations, with appointments available via Skype, which can be done before patients travel to Albany.

What Should a Patient Do to Prepare for Surgery?

Before your surgery, our physicians will provide you with guidelines on how to prepare. These typically include discontinuing medications including aspirin and anti-inflammatories. If you are a smoker, you will be advised to cease before and immediately following surgery, as carbon monoxide can interfere with the body’s healing process.

Provide your doctor with a list of all medications you are currently taking or recently stopped taking, include a list of any known allergies, and describe any adverse side effects you experienced during any other medical procedure. It is important to provide your physician with as much information about your medical history as possible.

What Happens During the Surgery?

The surgical processes vary because each procedure is highly specialized. Below is an overview, but one of the doctors at DeLuca Plastic Surgery will provide more detailed information during your surgical consultation.

Before surgery begins, anesthesia will be administered. The type of anesthesia given will depend on the kind of surgery performed. For example, breast augmentations, body contouring, and facelifts require full sedation, but minor skin grafts and flap surgeries may require only local anesthesia.

If you are concerned about reacting to the anesthesia, or if a family member has experienced a negative reaction to anesthesia, discuss these concerns with one of our doctors before the surgery begins. Blood tests, x-rays, electrocardiograms, and pregnancy tests can all be performed to ensure your anesthesia experience is safe and comfortable.

Although each procedure is highly specialized, most can be placed into two general categories: implantations or fat transfers. In implantations, an external material is inserted to augment body parts. For example, breast implants are generally made of saline or silicone, while facial implants may be made of silicone, TeflonTM, or Dacron. These implants are safe for most people and are closely monitored by the FDA. Like all medical instruments, implants are sanitized before insertion, and during revisional surgeries, old implants are replaced with new, sterile implants.

On the other hand, during fat transfers or fat grafts, your own biological material is used to augment the desired body part. There are several benefits of fat transfers: no foreign materials are placed in your body, and the augmentation procedure can be coupled with liposuction. For example, during a Brazilian butt lift, fat is reduced via liposuction from the abdomen, back, or thighs, and after a cleaning process, it is injected into the buttocks. However, with fat transfers, there will be two recovery sites: the liposuction site and the graft site.

The doctors at DeLuca Plastic Surgery will advise you on whether a fat transfer, implant, or combination is best for your desired outcomes, as well as what type of implant will work best with your procedure.

During these procedures, there are three main methods for treating skin: skin grafts, tissue expansion, and flap surgery. Skin grafts are usually used after injury, cancer, or burns. They involve removing healthy skin from an unaffected area, and moving it to the damaged area. This method has been around the longest, but the graft may never perfectly match the surrounding skin color.

Tissue expansion is usually used during breast reconstruction or repairing large wounds. A balloon-like device, called an expander, is placed beneath the skin, and gradually filled with salt water. Over time, this allows the skin to expand naturally, ensuring that the repaired area matches the appearance of surrounding skin. This procedure has a high success rate, but it does require a second surgery to remove the expander.

Flap surgery is used for breast reconstruction, cleft palate surgery, and treating large wounds. It works similarly to a skin graft, but the blood vessels are moved along with the skin. This maintained blood supply leads to a lower fail rate than a traditional skin graft. Again, the doctors at DeLuca Plastic Surgery will know which skin treatment is best for your procedure.

At the end of the procedure, the surgical incisions will be closed using stitches or sutures. The type of suture used depends on the procedure. Some sutures are absorbable, meaning they are made of organic materials that the body naturally destroys overtime. Some are permanent, meaning they stay in the body forever, or the surgeon removes them later. The doctors at DeLuca Plastic Surgery will have a plan in place for when to remove stitches or sutures, based on the procedure’s location.

Stitches in low-tension areas, such as the face, can generally be removed in 5-7 days, while stitches in active or high-tension areas, like the arms or legs, may be kept up to a month. Although leaving stitches in longer does increase the risk of scarring, dermatological procedures, such as micropigmentation, dermabrasion, or fillers, can reduce the scars’ appearance over time.

While this is a general overview of what occurs during plastic surgery operations, keep in mind that every procedure is unique and requires an individualized approach. Dr. DeLuca or Dr. Tauber will advise you on which methods are best to meet your end goals.

What Should Patients Expect During Post-Op?

Following any surgery, you should expect some discomfort and recovery time. The doctors at DeLuca Plastic Surgery will advise you on the best post-op practices, in addition to applying any necessary bandages and prescribing pain management medication. Best practices also include avoiding over-exertion to reduce the likelihood of infection or irritation as your body heals.

During post-op, it’s also important to care for any stitches or sutures in place. After the first 24 hours, you should gently wash the area one or two times a day with soap and water. You can also apply an antibiotic ointment, if the doctor prescribes one. Expect the area around the stitches to be red and tender, but contact your doctor immediately if you develop a fever, experience any discharge or pus, or the stitches come out on their own sooner than expected.

The healing process varies among different procedures, but the doctors at DeLuca Plastic Surgery will provide individualized instruction for your post-operative care. Be sure to tell your doctor about your experience with any previous surgical recovery, and to call him immediately if you experience severe pain.

Long Term Recovery Expectations and Follow Ups

The doctors at DeLuca Plastic Surgery typically schedule a follow-up examination within a few days following surgical procedures. These exams allow the doctors to check on your recovery and provide you with an opportunity to ask any additional questions which may have arisen following your procedure. The doctors will ask about any unusual pain or discomfort to ensure no complications have arisen.

Certain procedures, such as breast implants, will require occasional check-ups to ensure that your implants remain in good condition. Other procedures, like injectable fillers, will need to be repeated at a later time for maintained effects.

Dr. DeLuca and Dr. Tauber are happy to make themselves available 24/7 to all pre and post-operative patients to answer any questions you may have.

DeLuca Plastic Surgery offers free consultations to those looking to achieve surgical and non-surgical procedures. Contact us to discuss pricing or financing options, and to schedule your consultation.