3 Tips To Help Prepare Your Child For Plastic Surgery

If your child has a birth defect or has been injured, he or she might need to have plastic surgery done. If this is the case, you might be hopeful about the results of the surgery, but you might be a bit nervous about how your child is going to react as well. Preparing your child as much as possible can help things go more smoothly and can help him or her to be less frightened about the idea of having plastic surgery done.

1. Take Your Child to the Hospital Beforehand

If at all possible, it is a good idea to visit the hospital or surgical center at least once -- if not a few times -- before your child's surgery. Then, he or she can get used to the premises, meet some of the staff members and become more familiar with the place that he or she will be going for surgery. Many hospitals and surgical centers that are accustomed to working with children are more than willing to spend a little bit of time talking to the child before the surgery to help make things easier.

2. Be Honest

It can be easy to just want to fib to your child about what is going to be happening. However, this can lead to your child not understanding what is going on on the day of surgery. A much better option is to be honest with your child about why he or she is having surgery and what is going to happen. Even though these conversations can be difficult, they can be better for everyone in the long run.

3. Act it Out

One good way to prepare your child for surgery is to allow him or her to "act out' the surgery on a stuffed animal or doll. Being able to act as the doctor for a little while can cause your child to feel a little more in control of the situation, and he or she might be more willing to open up to you with any questions or feelings while playing instead of just talking.

As you can see, there are a few different ways that you can help prepare your child for plastic surgery. If you follow these tips, you might find that things will go more smoothly for your child than you thought, and you can help ensure that he or she is as prepared as possible for the big day. Additionally, your child's doctor might have other helpful tips to make preparation easier as well.

Contact a center like Shriners Hospitals for Children – Cincinnati for more information.