Tummy Tuck Pain After Surgery

Tummy Tuck Pain After Surgery

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. read more on symptoms of muscle separation after tummy tuck and pinching pain after tummy tuck.

Tummy Tuck Pain After Surgery

Abdominoplasty, also known as a tummy tuck, is a cosmetic surgical procedure that flattens the abdomen by removing excess fat and skin and tightening the underlying muscle. Most people recover within several weeks. You may experience swelling and moderate pain during your post-operative recovery, both due to the procedure itself and because of movements you make while your incision is healing. You can get through this period more comfortably by trying several strategies for managing the pain after a tummy tuck.

• 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.

Pinching Pain After Tummy Tuck

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.

There is always the potential for injury to deeper structures from surgeries, such as to the nerves, blood vessels, and muscles. This will usually present as itching, tenderness, or exaggerated responses to hot or cold temperatures. Often this resolves during the healing process but, in rare cases, may be chronic and a management plan should be discussed with your surgeon as soon as possible.

Early complications

Some complications will present visually and need to be managed immediately. For instance, sutures may spontaneously poke through the skin, becoming visible or producing irritation that requires removal.

Things you can do to prevent complications

Discussing your current lifestyle with your surgeon is incredibly important and here’s why: some complications are often preventable, such as wound disruption or delayed wound healing, which are more likely to occur in patients who don’t stop smoking before their operation, as should be advised by your surgeon. Generally, if wounds are dressed daily, this heals up in a couple of months. Necrosis, or skin death, can also occur at this time but is very rare.

Potential Problems Relating to your Tummy Tuck

Now, let’s take a look at some of the complications more specific to your tummy tuck procedure.

Abdominoplasty scar formation

Abdominoplasty scar formation around the umbilicus isn’t particularly unusual and is generally nothing to be concerned about. The scarring is very often pink but will fade to become white, soft and supple in the weeks or months after the operation. Most patients find that the wound heals quickly and that the appearance is ultimately acceptable to them. However, abnormal scarring occasionally occurs within the skin and deeper tissues and these may be unattractive and of  a slightly different colour to the surrounding skin. Scars may also exhibit contour variations and “bunching” due to excess skin, or may even be asymmetrical, meaning a different appearance between the right and left side of the body. It is important to note that in some cases scars may require surgical revision or treatment, though this is no real cause for concern.

In rare cases keloid scars may form, which are thickened by an inflammatory process in the scar tissue. This occurs due to an abnormality of the patient’s healing process rather than through surgical error. In such instances, specialist cosmetic surgery provides a special silicone gel tape to wear over the incision after the operation, which will result in less-visible scars.

Tummy tuck infections

Infection after surgery is a big concern for patients in our experience but antibiotics are administered during the operation and you will be prescribed oral antibiotics to take afterwards as well, which will minimise any risk. Nevertheless, infections can occur and, should this be the case, they are treated either by oral antibiotics or, in severe cases, by admission to hospital for intravenous antibiotics and further drainage procedures. It is important to note that infections, superficial or deep, from an abdominoplasty happen in only about 1% of surgeries.

Pain from a tummy tuck

Postoperative pain is another common concern and will occur in varying degrees in each patient, from quite severe to moderate to mild on the first day. It gradually improves over the next few days and is usually well tolerated by patients if they take the painkillers prescribed. Increasing pain unresponsive to pain-killers should be brought to the attention of the surgeon as this may be an indication that complications are developing. Patients may not be able to stand fully erect for up to two weeks after the operation due to the tightness of the abdominal skin with resultant excessive pull on the surgical scar. Intermittent mild discomfort or intermittent sharp pains after the first few weeks after surgery is also common, as the swelling resolves and the nerves recover. Chronic pain, ranging from from mild aching pain to sharp nerve pain can persist for more than one year, but is very rare. While bruising and swelling is normal after the operation, this also varies from mild to severe with each patient.

Patient, Surgeon Management Plans

Finally, we’ll explain some of the most common complications, which are all minor wound related issues and easily managed between yourself and your surgeon.

For instance, bleeding and excessive bruising can indicate the potential for a haematoma  developing, which is essentially a collection of blood under the skin. Though haematomas can often be treated with pressure, or needle aspirations in some instances they require removal through further surgery.

If you are considering an abdominoplasty you should also be aware that there are always rather long scars following surgery. Occasionally,  a wide, thick or otherwise unfavourable, scars may be visible outside the underwear or bikini. Rare complications related to the liposuction can include injury to deeper structures such as the abdominal wall, bowel, nerves and blood vessels and some numbness in the lower abdomen will result. Sensation usually returns fully, though in rare cases some of the numbness will be permanent.

There is also the potential for a seroma to develop after surgery but this will often dissipate  over time. A seroma is a collection of serous fluid, a liquid that your body makes to heal and seal wounds edges together. Generally the fluid naturally drains away, however, in some cases there may be too much fluid produced in the seroma, which will usually occur at the site of incision,  and it may not drain away completely but calcify instead. In this case surgery may be necessary, so make sure you bring any prolonged or unusual swelling to the immediate attention of your specialist, so it can be properly monitored.

Surgical drains (tubing) are rarely required for a tummy tuck these days but on occasion, for example in the treatment of haematoma or seroma, they may be necessary and these  tubes may protrude from or near my horizontal incision for up to one week.

Recovery Success

A tummy tuck is not a simple surgery and recovery can take time. Knowing the complications, risks and side effects discussed here may seem scary but the intent is to inform and prepare you for this big change in your life. We believe that knowledge is power and information is key. Being aware of potential risks as a result of any surgery could be life saving information.

Symptoms Of Muscle Separation After Tummy Tuck

• Incontinence.
• Constipation.
• Poor posture or postural issues.
• Bloating and digestive issues.
• Lower back, pelvic or abdominal pain or discomfort.
• Pelvic floor dysfunction.
• Can result in an abdominal hernia in severe cases.

Muscle separation or “diastasis recti” is a very common condition that I see in women post-pregnancy, and often repair as part of an abdominoplasty or “tummy tuck” procedure. But how can you tell if you have abdominal muscle separation, and what are the signs and symptoms? Read on to find out more.

I find that many, if not all women experience some degree of muscle separation post-pregnancy due to the expansion of the abdominal wall to accommodate for a growing baby. Although some women are able to function perfectly fine with a mild degree of muscle separation, others unfortunately suffer from chronic symptoms stemming from the weakened core that can only be relieved with surgical intervention.

How do I know if I have muscle separation?

You can “self-check” for abdominal muscle separation post birth by performing a basic physical assessment on yourself. This method can also be completed by your GP or physiotherapist.

1. Lie on your back in a “sit up” position, with your legs bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Come up to a “crunch” position by raising your shoulders off the floor slightly and look down towards your tummy. Engage your abdominal muscles. Use one hand to support your head if needed.
3. With your free hand, gently feel along the midline of your abdominal muscles, both above and below your bellybutton. Take note if you can feel any “gaps” where you can fit a finger between these muscles.
4. If you feel a gap between your muscles where you can fit more than one finger width, you likely have a mild to moderate case of abdominal muscle separation. I regularly operate on women with 4-8cm gaps!

Depending on how far post-partum you are, this gap may start to narrow as your muscles regain their strength. This self-assessment can be undertaken regularly to track the progress of your muscle separation.

Abdominal muscle separation signs and symptoms

Diastasis recti can often be spotted as a “pooch” or bulge in the mid to lower stomach, especially when you strain or contract your abdominal muscles. Other common symptoms associated with severe muscle separation include:

• Incontinence
• Constipation
• Poor posture or postural issues
• Bloating and digestive issues
• Lower back, pelvic or abdominal pain or discomfort
• Pelvic floor dysfunction
• Can result in an abdominal hernia in severe cases

Women with post-partum muscle separation may experience some or all of these symptoms over a course of time post birth.

Does a tummy tuck improve these symptoms

With the case studies of my abdominoplasty patients, I recently contributed to a national study which was published in the American Society of Plastic Surgeon’s ‘Plastic and Reconstructive Journal’ on the functional benefits of tummy tucks. It clearly demonstrates the benefits of the procedure to reduce back pain and incontinence issues post pregnancy.

How is a muscle repair performed

As part of an abdominoplasty procedure, muscle repair involves pulling the separated muscles back together and suturing internally along the connective tissues to hold them in place. Excess skin removal, liposuction and body sculpting will be performed at the same time as required. Functionally, re-connecting the abdominal muscles restores core function and strength, alleviating the symptoms listed above. Aesthetically, performing a muscle repair as part of a tummy tuck restores the architecture of the abdominal wall and creates a much flatter, youthful looking appearance.