Why should you get IV therapy if you are having surgery?

Lack of proper nutrition delays wound healing and leaves surgical patients more vulnerable to surgical complications. Studies show that most people have some level of nutrient depletion. For example, one in four Americans are at risk for poor absorption in the gut leading to nutrient deficiencies, meaning that the food you eat does not get digested and absorbed normally. Many more Americans are at risk for reduced nutrient levels because of food choices and the Standard American Diet. Both fast food and processed food (essentially any food that is packaged and has an ingredients list) contain “empty calories” which are nutrient-poor.

By providing optimal vitamin supplementation before and after surgery we can positively influence how well you heal.

Most Americans consume diets too high in calories and low in essential nutrients. We are known as a malnourished and overfed population. More than 70 percent of American adults do not get even two thirds of the RDA for one or more nutrients—consumption of fruits and vegetables is very poor. American meals, loaded with packaged, processed, nutrient-poor foods, contribute to marginal deficiencies that result in a shortage of vitamins and antioxidants that are particularly important to surgery patients undergoing anesthesia, trauma, and wound healing.

Deficits in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) have a negative influence on the immune response. Replacing these nutrients before surgery can have a significant and measurable effect on results by favorably reducing free radicals caused by surgery and anesthesia, increasing the immune system, reducing bruising and swelling, and promoting better wound healing. The importance of optimal nutrition is so that your systems work at their peak efficiency. If you are undergoing surgery, you want peak immune function to prevent infection, peak clotting function to reduce bleeding and bruising, peak protein synthesis for collagen formation and repair for better and minimal scarring.

Deficiencies of even a single nutrient result in altered immune responses even when the deficiency is mild.

Vitamins and minerals act as antioxidants. This is important, as during surgery it has been documented that the blood and tissue levels of nutrients decrease while the body’s requirement for them increases.

What do they tell us to do before surgery? First we are told to fast, so we are already depleted. Then they also have us stop all vitamins and supplements two weeks before surgery. We are severely depleted before we start. There are some nutrients you do not want to take since they can increase bleeding risks, but others are essential to healing. Undergoing surgery with reduced nutrition increases your risk. Surgical patients with malnutrition are two to three times more likely to have both minor and major surgical complications such as decreased wound strength (where the wound can open back up), increased rates of infection, delayed wound healing, increased inflammation, and increased bruising.

Plastic surgery outcomes are profoundly affected by pre-op and post- op nutritional status. The number of patients with pre-existing nutritional deficiencies and health problems who are seeking cosmetic surgical procedures is growing.

Pre-op and post-op IV nutrients supply your cells with the nutrients, co-factors, vitamins and minerals necessary for their peak functioning, so that your risk of complications is diminished and your healing is optimal. It generally consists of one nutritional IV before the surgery and one after, as well as supplementation by mouth. The specific components and possibly the number of nutritional IVs will vary depending on pre-operative health, nutritional status and other considerations.