Free Consultation - Call: 239-590-0861
Free Consultation - Call: 239-590-0861
Proudly serving families in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs, and surrounding Southwest Florida communities.
After plastic surgery, most surgeons will not discharge you unless a responsible adult drives you home and stays with you, often for at least the first 24 hours. A private caregiver can be that person: someone who picks you up from the surgical center, stays through the first night, helps you to the bathroom, keeps track of your medication schedule, prepares meals, and calls your surgeon’s office if something does not look right. This guide explains what postoperative help looks like after cosmetic surgery in Fort Myers and Cape Coral, how long you are likely to need it, what a caregiver can and cannot do, and how to arrange it discreetly.
This is general information, not medical advice. Your surgeon’s written postoperative instructions always come first.
Even a “routine” outpatient procedure leaves you groggy from anesthesia, sore, and on pain medication that affects balance and judgment. The first day or two are when people are most likely to fall, get dizzy on the way to the bathroom, take a dose too early or too late, or miss an early sign of a complication. Many patients also have limits on lifting their arms, bending, or bearing weight, which makes simple things like getting out of bed, showering, or opening a pill bottle hard to do alone.
A spouse or friend can fill that role, but it is a bigger job than most people expect, especially overnight. It is also a job many people would rather not ask a friend to do. A professional caregiver takes the pressure off everyone and lets you focus on resting.
Your surgeon is the right person to answer this, and the answer depends on the procedure, the type of anesthesia, and your health. As a general pattern:
Caregivers referred through Abby Services are available from a single four-hour visit up to 24-hour and live-in care. Many patients book around-the-clock help for the first night or two, then step down to a few hours a day. You can adjust as you recover.
Private caregivers provide personal care and support, not skilled nursing. Following your surgeon’s written instructions, a caregiver can often empty surgical drains, record the amount of drainage, and keep an eye on general discharge from the incision area, noting changes in color, amount, or odor and reporting them to you and your surgeon’s office. Assessing an incision, changing surgical dressings, stripping drains, and giving injections are nursing tasks. Your surgeon’s office will usually teach you or a family member what is needed at home, and many practices have a nurse you can call with questions. If your recovery requires skilled nursing at home, ask your surgeon about a home health referral.
Abby Services is owned by a registered nurse. Before your surgery, our RN, Scott Strachan, can review your surgeon’s postoperative instructions with you and help you plan how much support to arrange, which tasks are appropriate for a caregiver, and what to hand off to the surgical team. Share your written instructions with your caregiver so everyone is working from the same plan.
Many cosmetic surgery patients prefer to keep their procedure private. A professional caregiver means you do not have to explain your recovery to friends or ask family to take time off. Caregivers referred through Abby Services have passed Level 2 background screening and credential verification, and they are there to support you, not to share your business.
Abby Services is not affiliated with any surgical practice. These Fort Myers practices were confirmed active in September 2026; we list them as a community resource. If you are having surgery with one of them, or any other surgeon, tell them Abby Services will be providing your postoperative caregiver, and let them know Abby Services referred you.
Abby Services is a nurse-owned, state-licensed Florida nurse registry in Fort Myers. Since 1997 we have matched patients across Lee, Collier, and Charlotte Counties with screened, credentialed private caregivers who are independently employed and directed by the client. Plastic surgery recovery is one of the most common short-term reasons people call us, along with joint replacements and other procedures covered on our after-surgery home care page, with local details for Fort Myers and Cape Coral. If a complication lands you back in the hospital, a caregiver can stay with you there too; see hospital and rehab support.
Call our office at 239-590-0861 with your surgery date, procedure, and where you will recover, or tell us what you need online. Our guide to the cost of in-home care in Fort Myers explains typical rates.
Most surgeons require a responsible adult to drive you home and stay with you after surgery under general anesthesia or sedation, often for at least the first 24 hours. Follow your surgeon’s specific instructions. A private caregiver can fill this role if family or friends are not available.
It depends on the procedure. Minor procedures may need only a ride home and a few hours of help. Facelifts, breast surgery, and liposuction under general anesthesia usually call for at least 24 hours of help, and larger procedures like a tummy tuck or combined surgeries often need several days. Ask your surgeon for guidance.
Following your surgeon’s instructions, a private caregiver can often empty surgical drains, record the output, and monitor general discharge for changes in color, amount, or odor. Changing surgical dressings, assessing the incision, and stripping drains are nursing tasks; your surgeon’s office will teach you what is needed at home or arrange skilled nursing if required.
Yes. Caregivers referred through Abby Services can come to a home, condo, rental, or hotel in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte Counties.
Caregivers referred through Abby Services are available for visits starting at four hours, up to 24-hour and live-in care. Many surgery patients book overnight care for the first night or two and then reduce hours as they recover.
