Worried About Pain or Downtime After Surgery?
Recovery takes planning. Our approach focuses on pain management, follow-up, and clear guidance for each stage.
Ask anyone who has considered plastic surgery what their greatest fear is. The answer is rarely the anesthesia or the scalpel. It is what comes next: waking up in pain, being unable to work for weeks, not being able to hold your child, looking at the scar and wondering whether it was worth it. Dr. Alexandre Charão has dedicated himself to body contouring since 2004 in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, and developed Fast Track Recovery to address these fears — one by one.
What makes our recovery plan different?
Three scientific pillars that work together to transform the postoperative experience.
Rapid Recovery
Based on the ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) principles1, Fast Track Recovery applies multimodal protocols that shorten the time it takes to return to daily activities. Prospective clinical studies have shown that patients who follow accelerated recovery protocols2 return to work in up to 50% less time than with conventional approaches.
Recovery with Reduced Discomfort
Multimodal analgesia — a strategic combination of local anesthetics, anti-inflammatory drugs and minimally invasive techniques — significantly reduces postoperative pain without depending on high doses of opioids. The anesthetic safety protocols validated by the SCARE Consensus and by Dr. Jorge Enrique Bayter-Marín — whose body contouring study was named the best international article in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal in 2018 — are an integral part of this process.
Scar Care and Healing Support
The quality of the scar is determined long before surgery: by metabolic preparation of the body, by the surgical technique used and by the care of the wound in the postoperative period. Fast Track Recovery integrates these three factors, resulting in thinner, less visible scars of better histological quality — with support from perioperative nutritional therapy.
How does Fast Track Recovery differ from what the market offers?
Most clinics treat recovery as a natural consequence of surgery. Dr. Charão treats it as part of the procedure.
Conventional recovery depends almost exclusively on the biological resilience of the patient. Fast Track Recovery is active, not passive: each step is planned, set out in a protocol, and monitored. Dr. Charão creates an exclusive WhatsApp group for each patient who has surgery, ensuring direct access to the doctor throughout the postoperative period — without intermediaries, without waiting, with real support when it matters most.
This level of integrated care is internationally recognized. O Globo’s “Faz a Diferença” Award (2006) and the report in The Washington Post — whose journalists came to Brazil specifically to follow Dr. Charão’s work — reflect a philosophy that puts the patient at the center of every clinical decision. His full career path is available in Dr. Alexandre Charão's background.
Does Fast Track Recovery work for all body contouring surgeries?
Yes — and it is especially effective when combined with Preoperative Metabolic Preparation.
Fast Track Recovery is applied to all procedures performed by Dr. Charão: breast surgery, abdominoplasty, liposuction, BBL, gynecomastia, and post-bariatric surgery. It is even more effective when the patient arrives for surgery having already completed the Weight-Loss and Metabolic Preparation Method — because a prepared body responds better to any accelerated recovery protocol.
All surgeries are performed at Hospital Glória D'Or, in the Glória neighborhood, part of the D'Or Network — Brazil’s largest hospital network, with annual JCI accreditation. Dr. Charão is a plastic surgeon recognized by SBCP, AMB and CFM, and a member of BAPS, and has performed more than 6,000 surgeries since 2004 — with more than 200 real patient reviews on Google documenting the results of Fast Track Recovery in practice.
Technical Comparison of Procedures
See the differences between conventional recovery and Dr. Alexandre Charão's Fast Track Recovery:
| Criteria | Conventional recovery | Fast Track Recovery — Dr. Alexandre Charão |
|---|---|---|
|
Recovery time
|
✕ 8 to 12 weeks of restrictions | ✓ Significantly faster return to activities with the ERAS protocol |
|
Pain control
|
✕ Reactive analgesia with high-dose opioids | ✓ Preventive multimodal analgesia — less pain, less medication; supported by Bayter-Marín's thermal protection study |
|
Scar quality
|
• Depends on the individual patient's biology | ✓ Active refined-healing protocol: metabolic preparation + technique + post-op care |
|
Anesthetic safety
|
• Standard protocol | ✓ Based on the SCARE Consensus and Bayter-Marín studies (ASJ 2018) |
|
Post-op monitoring
|
• Appointments at fixed intervals | ✓ Exclusive WhatsApp Group with direct access to Dr. Charão |
|
Pre- and post-op integration
|
• Preparation and recovery treated separately | ✓ Fast Track Recovery + Metabolic Preparation work together |
|
Surgical structure
|
• Variable | ✓ Hospital Glória D'Or — D'Or Network, annual JCI accreditation |
|
Surgeon experience
|
• Variable | ✓ Since 2004: 6,000+ surgeries focused on body contouring |
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Fast Track Recovery?
It is the exclusive postoperative protocol developed by Dr. Charão: rapid recovery, reduced discomfort, and refined healing. The three pillars act in an integrated way, transforming the postoperative experience into something much more comfortable and predictable than the conventional standard.
Does Fast Track Recovery completely eliminate postoperative pain?
The goal is not to promise total absence of pain — but to drastically reduce it through multimodal analgesia and internationally validated anesthetic safety protocols. Pain and medication needs vary. Our team will tailor pain control to you and explain when to contact us.
How soon can the patient get back to work with Fast Track Recovery?
Time varies according to the type of surgery and patient profile, but studies of ERAS protocols in plastic surgery show a return to activities in up to 50% less time than conventional approaches. Dr. Charão evaluates each case individually and defines realistic expectations in the consultation.
Does Fast Track Recovery guarantee an invisible scar?
No protocol guarantees invisible scarring — that would require no incision at all. What Fast Track Recovery provides is the ideal environment for the scar to be as thin as possible: adequate metabolic preparation before, precise surgical technique during and specific wound care afterward.
How does anesthetic safety connect to Fast Track Recovery?
Dr. Charão follows anesthetic safety protocols validated by the SCARE Consensus and by the studies of Dr. Jorge Enrique Bayter-Marín – internationally recognized for demonstrating that thermal protection and proper management of bleeding reduce complications in body contouring surgeries. Anesthetic safety is part of the reduced-discomfort pillar of Fast Track Recovery.
Does Fast Track Recovery work for combined surgeries like Mommy Makeover?
Yes. Fast Track Recovery is especially relevant in combined procedures, where pain control and accelerated recovery are even more important. Dr. Charão plans each protocol individually to minimize the overall impact of a larger operation.
Does Metabolic Preparation enhance Fast Track Recovery?
Yes. The two protocols were developed in a complementary way: Metabolic Preparation creates the ideal conditions in the body before surgery, and Fast Track Recovery leads to recovery with minimal discomfort. Patients arriving metabolically prepared respond better to all three Rs.
Where are the surgeries with Fast Track Recovery performed?
At Hospital Glória D'Or, in the Glória neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro — part of the D'Or Network, with annual JCI accreditation. The hospital's excellent infrastructure is a fundamental part of the safety offered by Fast Track Recovery in each procedure.
Ready for a planned post-op — not an improvised one?
Schedule a face-to-face consultation in Botafogo or an exclusive teleconsultation directly with Dr. Alexandre Charão's team.
📅 Ask Our Team📚 Scientific Bibliography
- Kehlet H, Wilmore DW. Multimodal strategies to improve surgical outcome. Am J Surg. 2002;183(6):630-641. doi:10.1016/S0002-9610(02)00866-8
- Seren JM, Cervantes A, Fontbona M, et al. The Decalogue on Enhanced Recovery After Breast Augmentation Surgery (ERABAS): study with 2,906 patients. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39014235/