A tummy tuck is surgery to remove fat and skin from your belly and to tighten the stomach muscles. It is also called an abdominoplasty. The surgery makes your belly look flatter.
Your belly will be sore and swollen for the first week after surgery. You may need to wear a compression garment as you heal. 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.
Tummy Tuck Post Op Instructions
You may not be able to stand up straight when you first come home, but this will improve. You’ll need to get up and walk every day to regain your normal movement. Between walks, move your feet and legs often.
A tummy tuck leaves a long scar that will fade with time. You also may have a small scar around your belly button.
This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace. Follow the steps below to get better as quickly as possible.
- Rest when you feel tired. Getting enough sleep will help you recover.
- Try to walk each day. Start by walking a little more than you did the day before. Bit by bit, increase the amount you walk. Walking boosts blood flow and helps prevent pneumonia and constipation.
- Avoid abdominal exercises and strenuous activities, such as bicycle riding, jogging, weight lifting, or aerobic exercise, for 6 to 8 weeks.
- For 6 weeks, avoid lifting anything that would make you strain. This may include heavy grocery bags and milk containers, a heavy briefcase or backpack, cat litter or dog food bags, a vacuum cleaner, or a child.
- Ask your doctor when you can drive again.
- Most people are able to return to work about 2 to 3 weeks after surgery. It depends on the type of work you do and how you feel.
- You may shower 24 to 48 hours after surgery or once your drains come out. Pat the incision dry. Do not take a bath for the first 2 weeks, or until your doctor tells you it is okay.
- Ask your doctor when it is okay to have sex.
Diet
- You can eat your normal diet. If your stomach is upset, try bland, low-fat foods like plain rice, broiled chicken, toast, and yogurt.
- Drink plenty of fluids (unless your doctor tells you not to).
- You may notice that your bowel movements are not regular right after your surgery. This is common. Try to avoid constipation and straining with bowel movements. You may want to take a fibre supplement every day. If you have not had a bowel movement after a couple of days, ask your doctor about taking a mild laxative.
Medicines
- Your doctor will tell you if and when you can restart your medicines. Your doctor will also give you instructions about taking any new medicines.
- If you stopped taking aspirin or some other blood thinner, your doctor will tell you when to start taking it again.
- Be safe with medicines. Take pain medicines exactly as directed.
- If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed.
- If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine.
- If you think your pain medicine is making you sick to your stomach:
- Take your medicine after meals (unless your doctor has told you not to).
- Ask your doctor for a different pain medicine.
- If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.
Incision care
- If you have strips of tape on your incision, leave the tape on for a week or until it falls off. Or follow your doctor’s instructions for removing the tape.
- Wash the area daily with warm water, and pat it dry. Don’t use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, which can slow healing.
- Keep the area clean and dry. You may cover it with a gauze bandage if it weeps or rubs against clothing. Change the bandage every day if your doctor told you to do so.
- You may have one or two drain tubes in place to prevent fluid from building up under the skin of your belly. Your doctor will tell you how to take care of it.
Burning Sensation After Tummy Tuck And Lipo
Do not stand fully upright: Standing upright could greatly affect your results and could cause serious injury. Within 1-2 weeks after surgery, you will be able to stand upright again. You may slowly begin to stand taller each day as the tummy region continues to heal. Rest, but not bed rest. While rest is important in the early stages of healing, equally important is that you are ambulatory, meaning that you are walking under your own strength. If you are drinking plenty of water you will be walking to the bathroom. This will be enough activity.
Dressings:
Keep dressings clean and dry. Your incisions will seep fluid and some blood for a short time after surgery. Do not remove any steri-strips over your stitches. You can replace any compressions garments over the gauze. If you have a drain placed in your incisions, carefully follow the instructions for drain care and record the amount of drained fluid. It is okay to shower with drains in place. It is also okay for the shower water to come in contact with your incision sites.
Whether you are released on the same day as the surgery or after an overnight stay in the hospital, you will only be released to the care of a responsible adult. All of these instructions must be clear to the adult who will monitor your health and support you around the clock in the first 24 hours following plastic surgery.,Crushed ice or ice packs must be wrapped in a towel before being applied to the skin. Do not apply ice or anything frozen directly to the skin. Apply cool compresses, for no longer than 20-minute intervals.
Pain medication and muscle relaxants will help you cope with any discomfort. If you have drains, you may experience additional localized discomfort. Consistent sharp pain should be reported to Dr. Tanna immediately.
Skin firmness, hypersensitivity or lack of sensitivity:
This is normal and will gradually resolve over time.
Shiny skin or any itchy feeling:
Swelling can cause the skin in treated areas to appear shiny. As the healing process advances, you may also find a mild to severe itchy feeling. An antihistamine like Benadryl can help to alleviate severe, constant itchiness. If the skin becomes red and hot to the touch, contact our office immediately.
Asymmetry: both sides of your body heal differently:
One side of your body may look or feel quite different from the other in the days following surgery. This is expected. However, extreme asymmetry should be reported to Dr. Tanna immediately.
