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If the cold sore has dried and scabbed over, surgery can go ahead; if it is new, red and weeping, surgery is postponed. So if symptoms start before your surgery, send a clear photograph straight away.
If you develop a herpes labialis simplex lesion before surgery, whether the procedure can be performed depends on the activity status of the virus:
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Scabbed / Healing Lesion
If the lesion has dried and scabbed over (not actively red or weeping), there is no harm in undergoing surgery, and the operation can be performed.
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Active / Red and Weeping Lesion
If the lesion is newly emerged, active, red, and weeping (fresh infection), the surgery may need to be postponed due to the risk of spreading the virus under general anesthesia and surgical manipulation.
📢 Important Recommendation: If symptoms start before your surgery day, please take a clear and up-to-date photograph of the lesion and send it directly to your physician to clarify the situation.
- The stress of surgery can itself trigger a cold sore in some patients.
- A cold sore usually starts with itching and burning. If you use the cream prescribed for cold sores as soon as you notice that feeling — or the small swelling that follows — the sore can be stopped before it grows.
- Once the sore has erupted, you should not have surgery until it has scabbed over.