Your Liposuction Surgical Experience
The goal of your plastic
surgeon and the entire staff is to make your surgical experience as easy and
comfortable for you as possible.
How should I prepare for liposuction surgery?
If you are a smoker, you will be asked to stop smoking well in advance of surgery. Aspirin and certain anti-inflammatory drugs can cause increased bleeding, so you should avoid taking these medications for a period of time before surgery. Your surgeon will provide you with additional preoperative instructions.
Depending on the extent of your liposuction surgery and the type of anesthesia used, you may need someone to drive you home afterwards and to stay with you at least the first night.
What will the day of surgery be like?
Your liposuction surgery may be performed in a hospital, free-standing ambulatory facility or office-based surgical suite.
Medications are administered for your comfort during the surgical procedure. You and your plastic surgeon will have decided in advance what type of anesthesia is to be used, either local anesthesia, intravenous sedation, and epidural block or general anesthesia. For your safety during the operation, various monitors are used to check your heart, blood pressure, pulse and the amount of oxygen circulating in your blood.
When liposuction surgery is completed, you will be taken into a recovery area where you will continue to be closely monitored. There may be some discomfort, but this can be controlled by medication which you may continue taking at home. A compressive dressing such as an elasticized bandage, sponge or specially designed garment may have been placed over the areas that were suctioned. Your surgeon will tell you how long you should wear the garment and will instruct you on how to remove it so that you may shower or bathe.
You probably will be permitted to go home after a few hours, although some patients may stay overnight in the hospital or surgical facility.
How will I look initially?
It is important to realize that the amount of time it takes for recovery varies greatly among individuals.
The day after surgery, you will need to move around a bit to promote blood circulation. Your plastic surgeon will advise you to limit yourself to these brief periods of gentle activities for the first few days. Remember, you must not take aspirin or certain anti-inflammatory medications, and you should not smoke for a while following liposuction surgery.
Your dressings will be temporarily removed within several days so that your plastic surgeon can examine the treated areas. You will notice swelling and bruising, which is to be expected. Swelling usually begins to subside a week or so following surgery, while bruising can last three weeks or longer. There may also be numbness in some areas, and it may take several weeks before feeling returns. If stitches need to be removed, this is typically done within ten days after surgery.
When can I resume my normal activities?
You may be able to return to work in just a few days. In many instance, you can resume most of your normal activities within one or two weeks and begin some form of exercise soon after. The timing of your recovery depends largely on the extent of your liposuction surgery.