Women and men alike commonly choose surgical fat reduction to reshape their body by reducing volume around areas such as the thighs, stomach, upper arms, or back—especially if the unwanted bulk there hasn’t been improved by diet and exercise. Liposuction involves using a specialized device to dislodge and remove some of the fat cells from below the skin. Ideally, the skin shrinks and tightens up over the newly smaller area, creating more defined, proportional contours that become increasingly apparent as swelling resolves in the weeks after your procedure. Overall, liposuction recovery at our Nashville-based Nashville Plastic Surgery Institute is fairly straightforward and uneventful for patients—especially if they follow our post-surgical care instructions and guidelines.
Timeline for At-Home Liposuction Recovery
During the first week after the surgery, some mild swelling, bruising, and redness may occur. Patients shouldn’t engage in strenuous exercise during this time. After a few days, the discomfort will begin to ease. For several weeks, you’ll be asked to wear a compression garment to keep swelling down, improve your results and help you to feel more comfortable and heal faster.
Pain usually subsides away after the first month. The final results are typically visible three to six months later, with full results and skin contraction taking up to a year. By this time there should be no more bruising or swelling.
Tips to Improve Healing
It’s important to maintain a healthy diet and keep your weight stable after liposuction. Incorporate light exercise when it’s safe to do so, and be sure to stay hydrated. Also, be sure to get plenty of sleep, as this is when your body heals itself. Avoid smoking, because nicotine can inhibit blood flow, which, in turn, can prevent incisions from healing optimally.
What to Expect in Terms of Scars
Surgery involves cutting through the skin, so any surgery will leave a scar of some sort. Incisions are necessary to allow access for removing subcutaneous fat, but we will work to make them as small an unobtrusive as possible. Only tiny incisions (a few millimeters long) are made, and they are positioned in areas that can be easily concealed as much as possible. The resulting scars gradually fade, becoming less noticeable by around six months. Aftercare techniques and scar removal treatments are routinely incorporated into your regimen.
Wondering if liposuction is the right choice for you? Find out more about what recovery is like after surgical fat reduction at Nashville-based Nashville Plastic Surgery Institute. Call 615.932.7700 or submit a contact form to let us know more about your goals.