More Details About Liposuction Recovery

We touched on the recovery process for liposuction earlier in the week, and now were going to go into more detail about what the experience of recovering from liposuction may be like for you. Of course, every patients experience is unique, so keep that in mind if youre using this information to help make a decision about whether or not to get liposuction.
Recovery Time
Many liposuction procedures are outpatient (if the procedure isnt paired with another surgery), so the patient can go home the same day. During the 24 hours following the liposuction, the patient should stay on bed rest. You will need to continue to rest for several days after the procedure, gradually increasing your daily activity based on the advice of your surgeon.
Most patients can return to work after about one week, though your specific timeframe may be more or less, depending on the size and location of the area worked. After about two weeks, you should be able to return to your full activity level. Patients should expect the contours of their body to continue to adapt to their new underlying surface area for up to six months, at which point your new shape will be fully revealed.
Side Effects of Liposuction
Most of the side effects of the procedure are experienced within the initial one to two week recovery time. Some patients experience redness, swelling, and soreness. You may develop bruising around the surgical site. Depending on the type of liposuction you have, you may experience some liquid draining from the incision site- this is normal and will actually help decrease swelling and bruising.
To combat the swelling that may occur, be sure to stay hydrated and avoid high-sodium foods after surgery. Your surgeon may also provide you with a compression garment to wear over the surgical site, which provides support for the shifting tissues, helps with wrinkling of the skin, and helps decrease the amount of swelling. Moving as much as possible will also help decrease swelling.
Some patients may also experience some dryness of the skin or itching in the area that received liposuction. Your surgeon can recommend a lotion or other substance to use on the skin to help alleviate that. Along with dryness, the patient may experience numbness around the surgical site for up to eight weeks. The surgeon may also recommend that you massage the area several times a day to increase the fluid drainage and decrease swelling.
Click here to visit our liposuction page and view a liposuction animation or read liposuction FAQs.
If you’re interested in coming into our Northern Virginia plastic surgery practice for a consultation, call (703) 574-2588 or click here to set up a consultation.
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