Letty's Liposuction Directory

Recovering from Liposuction Surgery:

Author: Letty's Staff Writer

This article is dedicated to giving you the skinny about liposuction recovery.

No one likes pain

So I was really looking to write an article that would give everyone an in-depth view (in the questions-and-answers format) of the healing process - and what it will take to feel yourself again after surgery.

If it's alright with you - let's not waste another second... Continue reading below.

What will happen to me after liposuction surgery?

Recovery from Liposuction: Answer #1

After some liposuction surgery, the patient can expect to wear a support garment continuously for 2-3 weeks.

If ankles or calves were treated, support hose should be worn for up to 6 weeks.

The support garments can be removed during bathing. A drainage tube placed under the skin in the area of the procedure may be needed to prevent fluid build-up.

The incisions involved in this procedure are tiny, however, the surgeon may choose to close them with sutures or staples.

These will be removed about 48 to 72 hours after surgery. Some micro-incisions are small enough that the doctor may not need to close them with sutures.

Minor bleeding or seepage through the incision site is common after this procedure.

Wearing the elastic bandage or support garment helps reduce the fluid loss.

About how long will it take to recover from the surgery?

Recovery from Liposuction: Answer #2

Liposuction is normally an outpatient procedure.

Patients should plan to have someone available to drive them home and stay with them for the next 12-24 hours.

The patient usually can return to normal activity within a week. Any postoperative bruising is expected to go away within 10-14 days. Postoperative swelling begins to go down after a week.

It may take 3-6 months for the final contour to be reached depending on the extent of the surgery.

How much pain will I experience post-surgery?

Recovery from Liposuction: Answer #3

If the tumescent technique is used, the patient will feel little or no pain for 24 hours following the procedure but after that may have soreness and swelling for several weeks.

How will my results look immediately following surgery?

Recovery from Liposuction: Answer #4

There are no guarantees when it comes to appearance after liposuction surgery.

However, if you are a patient who went into the surgery with relatively elastic skin with a smooth appearance – then chances are you liposuction skin will remain smooth and you will be significantly smaller in the treated areas.

You may be able see small scars at the surgical incision points several weeks after surgery. Light-skinned individuals will have less obvious scars. Dark-skinned individuals may have hyper-pigmentation (darker coloration) at incision areas that may be treatable with an over-the-counter fade cream.

What is the take-home here?

Liposuction surgery can treat areas of resistant fat on the body effectively.

Also it can offer a silhouette that you may not be able to attain on your own... However results are not guaranteed.

So my advice to you is to go into your surgery with reasonable expectations. And as with any plastic surgery be prepared to except that you may need a second or third procedure should things go wrong.

Recovery from Liposuction References:

• "Liposuction." Louann W. Murray, Ph.D. and Tish Davidson, A.M. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ed. Jacqueline L. Longe. 3rd ed. Detroit: Gale, Online update, 2008. 5 vols.