The skin on your stomach will be mostly numb for several weeks to months. Feeling will return slowly. It's normal to feel tired while you are healing. It can take 5 to 6 weeks for your energy to return.
Share on Pinterest It can take around 8 weeks to recover from tummy tuck surgery. Typically, a person can expect to feel themselves again around 8 weeks after surgery.
Swelling 3 Weeks after Tummy Tuck
As with any other surgical procedure, swelling after tummy tuck is typical to occur in the lower abdominal area. Three weeks after surgery, most patients feel very swollen and even experience hardness around the belly button.
Tummy tucks affects the nerves and blood vessels in the lower abdominal area. As a result, patients often experience tingling, numbness, itching, and other odd sensations during the recovery period. As the skin and nerves heal, these sensations will subside as well.
As we mentioned, each person's tummy tuck recovery time varies, but most patients are ready to return to normal activities within 3-6 months after their initial procedure.
Many will still experience swelling in the months following a tummy tuck. You may also feel a numbness, pulling sensation, or experience bruising in your abdomen area. The incision should be fully healed, but it's possible your remaining scar will still appear red and raised. This will eventually become flat and fade.
You can massage the scars in the shower, with soap and water, and then again with moisturizing cream after you have showered. We suggest scar massage many times throughout the day for 5-10 minutes each session. It is important to strictly follow your post-operative tummy tuck instructions.
Swelling is a normal part of tummy tuck recovery, and while most of it resolves within the first 2 months, some residual swelling can last for 6 months to a year.
A common sign of an undesirable tummy tuck is poor repositioning of the belly button. If you see that your navel is too high or too low, it might be that it's been misshapen, while pulling and tightening of the skin has distorted the original shape and position.
The reason why you can't sleep on your side after a tummy tuck is that it creates too much tension in the surgical area and can be painful. Sleeping on your side after 3 or 5 weeks after the tummy tuck is even better. In addition to sleeping in the right position, it is also important to ensure a comfortable recovery.
Tummy tuck patients may also experience a tight feeling in their belly because the skin has been cut and put back together. More so, muscle tightening during the surgery can lead to a hardened tissue sensation during recovery.
How long do you walk hunched over after a tummy tuck? You will need to walk hunched over or bent at the waist for about a week. This helps prevent additional pressure on your incision lines.
Four weeks post-op tummy tuck will see you feeling stronger and more restored. During this time, you'll likely find: Reduced pain and swelling. A healing ridge or hardness may form around the wound.
The worst days after your tummy tuck will be the first one to three days. You may experience some discomfort, bloating, pressure, and swelling, but these symptoms are normal and will resolve themselves.
If you have good scars, a normal-looking belly button and natural abdominal contours, hardly anyone will be able to tell you have had tummy tuck. They will simply admire your flat, firm abdomen!
Even in most normal weight and extremely fit women, the abdomen may not be completely flat following abdominoplasty. It is realistic for patients to expect improvement in the flatness of the stomach, but should not immediately assume that their abdomen will be entirely flat.
The surgeon tightened the muscles optimally, but you were too active after surgery and stretched the muscles during repair, which resulted in the protrusion. Lie flat on your back. If the stomach is flat, re-tightening of the muscle surgically will help. If the stomach is protruding, you need to lose weight.
Some tummy tuck patients experience weight gain after surgery and notice increased abdominal fat as a result. The fat tends to appear in the upper part of the abdomen while the lower abdomen remains relatively flat.
Wearing compression garments that are too tight or too loose impairs healing and causes more harm than good. These garments should ideally provide adequate support to your abdomen's healing areas following liposuction or Tummy Tuck without causing you discomfort. It should snugly fit the new contours of your body.
Why is Lymphatic Massage necessary? Cosmetic surgeries all produce swelling as it is part of the body's normal healing process. Liposuction and tummy tucks can disrupt the natural pathways taken by the lymphatic system due to the surgery location. This can cause a build up of fluids (or swelling).
You can begin to increase cardio and also target the abdominal region with specific activities such as knee tucks, leg raises, oblique training, and planks. Cardio exercise and proper diet is the best way to maintain your results from a tummy tuck.
Along with general fatigue, expect some soreness in the abdomen and sensitivity around your incisions, especially when they are stressed. If your tummy tuck included a repair of stretched abdominal muscles (diastasis recti), your lower abdomen might also feel a bit tight.
After the second day, your only exercise should involve getting out of bed every two hours and walking with assistance for 10 to 15 minutes. By the end of the week, you should be able to engage in light activity or household chores and walk without assistance.