Swelling is a normal and temporary part of healing after liposuction. The bulk of swelling will go down within a few weeks of your procedure to reveal a slimmer and more toned appearance. Some degree of residual swelling and fluid retention can remain after that, obscuring final results for months.
With open drainage and high compression the tumescent drainage usually ceases in 24 to 72 hours. After liposuction of an unusually large abdomen or thigh, drainage may persist for several days.
What Are the Best Ways to Reduce Lipo Swelling? Doctors recommend several best practices to help keep swelling down after your liposuction procedure. These include wearing your compression garment, using ice packs in affected areas, staying hydrated, and in some cases, massages.
Swelling usually starts to go down by the end of the first week but wearing the compression garments should continue until week four or as otherwise directed. Some degree of swelling may last for as long as six weeks, but within a few days, you should be comfortable enough to return to work.
Liposuction will NOT improve the appearance of loose, sagging skin. Liposuction is not an all-in-one body contouring solution. If a patient's primary concern is loose, sagging skin, then a procedure like Tummy Tuck surgery, Arm Lift, or Thigh Lift may be a better option to remove excess skin.
Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) massage is frequently recommended by plastic surgeons during the recovery phase following cosmetic liposuction. This specialized form of massage is generally believed to decrease recovery time and improve results, by reducing post-surgical swelling and fibrosis (scar tissue formation).
After such a procedure, there is a lot of excess swelling and fluid and the drains are very important to remove all of this excess fluid so that it does not accumulate under the skin.
Doctors will advise their patients that, without massage, there is a risk that the swelling and inflammation could turn into fibrosis, which is a permanent hardening of the area. Lymphatic Massage ensures you'll achieve the best results possible from your procedure!
Causes. During a procedure like a tummy tuck or liposuction, large pieces of tissue are removed from the body. This leaves a large negative space in the body, which, until it heals, is vulnerable to the collection of fluid. The fluid is sent to this area in order to prevent infection.
Drinking water is fine after liposuction and actually decreases edema by getting rid of sodium when you pee. It is the salt (Sodium that helps retain water in the body).
It is important to stay hydrated after liposuction surgery. Therefore, patients should increase their water intake to at least 64 ounces every day. This will help reduce swelling following surgery, regulate digestion, and flush out harmful toxins.
Soreness and bruising typically peak about 3 to 5 days post-op and then begin to diminish more each day. My patients go home with a compression garment over their bandages, which provides support and protection, helps decrease swelling, and encourages better long-term liposuction results.
A seroma is a collection of fluid (lymphatic fluid) within the area that had liposucton. Serum is the yellowish liquid portion of blood that remains after the red blood cells (which transport oxygen to the body's tissues), and white blood cells (which fight infections) have been removed.
Answer: How long after liposuction do you have to start massaging? Treat yourself to post-procedure massages as it will help to speed up the recovery and healing process. It is also believed to improve the cosmetic result and address swelling issues.
A general recommendation is to have three to five massage treatments, but some patients may experience benefits from as few as one to two treatments. Your cosmetic surgeon can advise you as to whether lymphatic massage will benefit you following your liposuction or other surgical procedure.
It's recommended that patients who underwent surgeries like liposuction or tummy tucks start with three to five massage sessions beginning two weeks after the procedure. “The timing is ideal because the bruising will be gone, so it won't be painful,” Dr. Doft shares.
Drainage after liposuction is very normal after liposuction and is usually heaviest for the first 2 days after the procedure. It usually stops by the 4th or 5th day. The drainage is just extra fluid that was injected into the fat at the beginning of surgery that wasn't suctioned out during the liposuction procedure.
Like other surgical procedures, liposuction causes swelling, which makes it difficult to see results. Instead of looking trim and toned, post-operative swelling may cause you to look as though you are retaining water.
Ultimately, the most you can lose with liposuction is likely to be about two dress sizes, which is a significant change. This is why so many patients in The Woodlands choose liposuction to help enhance their body shape.
1-2 weeks after the liposuction operation, the swelling in the area transforms into a hardness that lasts for 3 months on average. In fact, this hardness is an indication of the recovery of the treated areas. The hardness softens over time, and the excess fluid and swelling disappear.
Is it dangerous to have liposuction twice? You can have the procedure done to the same area several times, however, it is important to give your body at least 6 months to recover. The risk of irregular and uneven results increases with each procedure.
Here are the signs to look for with a botched liposuction procedure: Saggy skin. Uneven areas that are lumpy even to the touch or do not look smooth in texture. Skin that is discolored longer than the initial recovery time (outside of possible bruising which eventually goes away)