The Liposuction Recovery
How Much "Downtime"
You've To Incur?


The Recovery Time

Exactly how long does it take for liposuction recovery to get literally "done with"? (meaning you're fully recovered from the surgery?)

The surgeon (the unprofessional one) will tell you: "Oh, it's a short period, 1 month, tops."

So you happily go for the surgery not knowing you could be in for a recovery time way, way longer than the surgeon's "magical" 1-month period!

The more "Tolerable" Recovery Time

For a typical liposuction, a professional and conscientious surgeon will give you these recovery times:

  • Surgery pain (from mild to severe) - varies from one procedure to another; you may need to take pain medication ranging from 3 to 14 days

  • Swelling - 2 weeks to 2 months or more

    • Swelling occurs after almost all liposuctions. How much swelling you've after liposuction depends on:

    a. Area of the liposuction - the lower on your body the greater the chance of having swelling in that area

    b. Number of previous liposuction - if you have had liposuction in the same area before, there's hidden scarred tissue which is much more proned to swelling because it's a water-based fibrous tissue, compared to the fatty tissues which are more oil-based with a small amount of water-base fibrous tissue coursing through the fat

    c. Genetic factors

    d. Fatty-tissue - if you've cells that are fragile or proned to reacting at the slightest bit of trauma, they would release special chemicals that may cause the release of swelling fluid from your blood and lymph vessels

    e. Also, persistent arm and calf swelling are more common than swelling of the legs. So be prepared for this and don't become depressed if you're healing slowly and take longer than expected liposuction recovery time..........

  • Bruising - 2 days to 2 weeks

  • Numbness in surgical area - lasts several weeks

  • Bandages - get changed in 1 to 2 days while drains and sutures removed first 5 to 10 days

  • Go back to work - after 1 to 3 weeks

  • Go back to exercise - wait 2 to 4 weeks

  • Final result - seen after 1 to 6 months. Though your body may take on the new shape in 1st couple of weeks, some swellings may still remain for several months due to skin surface irregularities. Hence, you may only get clear final result until 6 months after surgery


It Takes Time to Heal the Wounds, Inside and Outside

Right, it's quite a "grim" picture, if you ask me. But this is a more realistic estimate of liposuction recovery time.

Come on, a surgery is a surgery, no matter how "simple" it is or how young or resilient your body is or how good your surgeon is......

Because you've to heal the wounds, inside and outside and it takes time.

If the suctioned area is small or you're younger with good skin elasticity, you can expect a shorter liposuction recovery period. If not, brace yourself for the longer period.

So, schedule enough days off to tie you over this period, if you really must go for the surgery.

You don't want to feel stress up due to insufficient days off to recuperate, which would only worsen your condition as stress would slow down your healing process......

One more thing, you may have to brace with the asymmetry in your body until you recover completely.

This is because your body doesn't heal equally on each side; so one arm, leg, thigh or tummy may seem larger than the other.

You got to wait it out (6 months at least....) lest you get flustered up and want to have "revision" surgery!

That leads to the truth - that liposuction recovery isn't as short and simple as you think it is or what the surgeon tells you to be.

I touch on it because I feel that if you really want to do the surgery, make sure you've sufficient time to recover from it, to get satisfying results, after the length you've to go through and after you've spent a hefty sum on it.

It doesn't change my stand on liposuction though. I'm still saying this - don't go for it because it isn't medically necessary and it's a bad way to lose weight.



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