Take the vitamins twice a day starting one week before surgery. Take them until they are gone.

Take one or two Valium the night before surgery and one or two more upon rising. A comfortable, relaxed night's sleep before surgery is your best preparation for the operation itself. If you have difficulty falling asleep the first few nights after surgery, you may take one Valium at bedtime until they are gone.

You will be given a prescription pain medicine. Most people find that there is minimal discomfort from the operation and just leave the bottle on the shelf. But don't be a martyr. If you hurt, take the medicine. For minor pain you may take Tylenol, which will not cause drowsiness or light-headedness. Remember to use no aspirin or aspirin-containing products until two weeks after surgery, and to check the labels of all medicines you take to see if they contain aspirin.

The antibiotic is used to help prevent infection. Take it as prescribed beginning the morning of surgery. You need not refill this prescription.

Carefully remove all makeup and mascara before you come in for surgery. A face lift is a surgical procedure, and makeup interferes with sterility.

Leave your jewelry at home.  Don't wear perfume.

Wear loose clothing that is easy to put on and remove, such as elastic-waisted sweat pants. Wear a shirt that does not need to be pulled over your head.

When you arrive in the morning, the person who drives you to the office should escort you inside, so that he can receive instructions on when to pick you up.

Once at the office or surgicenter, you will be given more pills to make you sleepy. It is unlikely that you will remember anything at all after that. Here is what you will miss: you will be taken to the operating room and made comfortable in the operating chair. We will start your IV and give you more sedatives. Machines will monitor your blood pressure, heart beat, and oxygen level throughout the procedure. There will be no surprises, and the next thing you know, the operation will be over.