How long does it take to recover after Liposuction? – Dr. Surindher D S A

Recovery from surgery are of two forms. One is the initial recover i.e. how soon you can get back to work or normal activities and you overcome the surgery part of it and the full recovery that is when all the healing is complete and you are back to normal as how you were before. Short term or the early recovery phase is just a recovery from the surgery part. Most of the times liposuction, unless you are doing a large volume liposuction where you are removing more than 10 % of your body weight usually you can get back to all your normal activities within 2 to 3 days time. It depends on the area also. For e.g. the abdomen and the trunk are easier, the thighs, the buttocks or the hips are a little more difficult to get back to work. But even in the normal scenario 3 to 4 days is what you can advice when you start getting back to work and do your normal activities. You have to wear a garment inside after the surgery which you do wear and that will prevent your swelling from getting too worse. All the discomfort when you are doing your normal activities or otherwise is because of the swelling. The swelling if it is kept in check with a pressure garment then you are able to function much better and you can do all your normal physical activities including going back to work. But ofcourse we tell them you shouldn’t be confined to one place for too long, you should get up and walk in between, sit straight, keep yourselves hydrated and you have to wear the pressure garment. Complete recovery takes about 3 to 4 months. The day of the surgery you can see the results because there is no swelling or oedema but the next 24 to 36 hours is when the swelling is coming in. It peaks around the third day. From the third day onward everything starts to go down. After the third day you can do all your normal activities. You wear your garment, you are on medication for the first week or 10 days, so that takes care of the pain and the swelling. About 50 to 60 % of the swelling is gone within the first two weeks. The remaining 30 to 40 % takes about 2 and a half to 3 months. So it is not visible swelling for others to notice but you to feel normal. After the liposuction your skin is going to be hard, lumpy and dry. For the skin to get back to normal takes about 3 to 3 and half months. It is why post liposuction you have to wear your pressure garment, some massages, exercises all that we will tell you ton start from 10 days onwards to about 3 to 3 and half months i.e. the complete healing. You can start your normal exercises with in 10 to 20 days time but in a graded manner how much your body can afford and how much fat is being removed. But that your surgeon will always tell you.