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Narrator:

Can foods impact my surgery?

Robert Kotler, MD:

Well, garlic and ginger for example, when consumed in large amounts, can cause some change in clotting, yeah, so we tell people about it. We tell people those things that would get them into trouble. By the way, foods can also help us though. Because papaya and pineapple, rich in an enzyme called papase which is the same thing that is in meat tenderizer. After surgery, very good, because they help digest the red cells that cause bruising. When you see a bruise it's because the red cells in the blood have seeped into the tissues and it helps digest them. So, you know foods can work for us, and they can also work against us. But we need to know. This is the most important thing. And this is why it's so important to have a very complete evaluation by the cosmetic surgeon, a very complete evaluation by your personal doctor, so that none of these things would slip through the cracks.