Tummy Tuck Recovery

A tummy tuck procedure can help men and women who may have lost a lot of weight, mothers who may have a lose upper and/or lower abdominal wall and sagging stomach skin from previous pregnancies. Some tummy tuck procedures are performed as outpatient procedures, others as inpatient procedures, therefore you may be released within five hours after surgery or eight days depending on the amount of fat and skin that had to be removed.

The abdomen is usually swollen right after the surgery is performed and you are most likely to feel some discomfort. For the first few days, you will need someone at home to help and assist you. During the first ten days after surgery, discomfort, as well as bruising, is very common. Your doctor can prescribe pain medication to help with any discomfort that you may experience. In addition, your doctor may recommend laxatives.

Recovery time will vary from person to person but you should be up and walking around as soon as possible. Exercise will help you recover much quicker. Exercise will also help reduce the swelling and help avoid blood clots. Scars will eventually fade but initially will look worse during the first few months but they will fade. It takes time for the skin to heal, flatten out and become less noticeable. It would not be unusual for it to take up to a year for the scars fade and become less noticeable.

Remember each person will recover in different amounts of times and ways, although most people who have a tummy tuck procedure find that they can go back to work within two to four weeks after their surgery. Strenuous activity and heavy lifting will need to be avoided for about six to eight weeks. It can take a few months for all of the discomfort to clear up and the scars will fade over time.