They will check your incisions, remove dressings and drains (if they’re still in place), and answer any questions you may have about the healing process or resuming activities. While you undoubtedly heard from your surgeon and their team in the hours and days after the procedure, your first in-person check up usually comes about a week after surgery. “Our patients undergo postoperative lymphatic drainage massages and size down on their garments as swelling subsides.” Week 1
Tummy tuck recovery week by week 2021 series#
“Our patients wear a series of compression garments and foam for a total of about three months post-op,” he explains. Walters practice, compression and massage are both employed to manage post-op swelling. “I counsel my patient's to wear their compression garments 24/7 (except for showering) for six weeks after surgery,” she says.Īt Dr.
“The drainage tube often causes significant discomfort after a tummy tuck.” But all patients will be encouraged to wear compression garments for several weeks. “I usually avoid leaving a drainage tube by placing many internal stitches,” Dr. Walters adds.ĭepending on the technique of your surgeon, you may or may not go home with drains. A simple walk around the house every couple of hours will do the trick, Dr. “I ask that my patients get up and move around starting when they get home on the day of surgery,” Dr. You may be tempted to turn into a couch potato and use the downtime as an excuse to catch up on Squid Game, but gentle movement is perhaps the most important medicine during this time. Expect it “to improve each day,” he shares. Discomfort “is controlled with pain medication, as well as an injectable anesthetic called Exparel® that we administer during the procedure,” explains Jules Walters III, MD, a board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Metairie, LA. “Patients can expect to have incisional, inflammatory, and muscle spasm pain,” Dr. The First 48 Hoursįor the first 48 hours after a tummy tuck, you will feel drowsy (a lingering side effect of the anesthesia) and sore. Because general anesthesia is involved, you will need someone to drive you home and, if possible, stay with you for the first few days to help change dressings, administer pain medication (prescription and over-the-counter), care for children, and tend to any chores. Whether you go home the same day or stay overnight for observation is up to your surgeon, but “most tummy tucks are performed as an outpatient surgery, meaning you are able to return home on the same day,” says Olivia MaDan, MD, a board eligible plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Nashville, TN. “The surgery takes about three hours, and patients typically stay another hour or so for recovery.” “Most surgery centers have the patient come one to two hours before surgery,” he says. As Jeff Church, MD, a board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Wilmington, NC, explains, the vast majority of abdominoplasties are performed at outpatient facilities. Day 0įrom the time you check-in to the time you are discharged, a tummy tuck is a full-day affair. The amount of downtime depends on the patient and procedure, but here is a general timeline for recovering from an abdominoplasty. There may be particular milestones that are important to you, such as going back to work, exercising, or picking up young children. Tummy Tuck Recovery Timelineĭuring the consultation and pre-op preparations, your surgeon will share what can be expected during the recovery process and when you can return to normal activities after surgery. While recovery and results will look different for everyone and plastic surgeons have their own recommendations to ensure patients the best possible outcome, we’re offering some honest insight into what it’s really like to recover from a tummy tuck. To give you a clearer picture of what tummy tuck recovery is actually like, we’re breaking down what can be expected from the perspective of providers and patients alike. tummy tuck), chances are you’ve been looking through before and after photos, pricing out the surgery, reading stories of the recovery process, and wondering what’s in store. If you are thinking about having an abdominoplasty (a.k.a. Generally speaking, surgical procedures have a longer and more involved healing process than non-surgical alternatives, but what does that actually mean in terms of what you can expect in the days, weeks, and months after treatment?
A facet of the procedure that’s crucial to keep in mind: downtime and recovery. When considering cosmetic surgery, there is plenty of research to be done as it relates to types of procedures, quality of results, and expertise of providers.
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