Lifting Kids After Tummy Tuck?

I have two children that are very young and have been considering a Tummy Tuck (abdominoplasty). On average, how long do you need to rest? My daughter who is only 16 months loves to be picked up and tossed into the air, and my son (3 months old right now) loves to be held all the time. I could not see myself having the ability to rest for more than a day, how fast do women bounce back from this type of surgery?

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11 Doctor Answers | Asked by Courtney Hymer

Doctor Answers (11)
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After Tummy Tuck, no lifting more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks

If you undergo a tummy tuck, wait 6 weeks before you lift anything greater than 10 pounds. You do not want to stress the repair of your rectus diastasis (the stretched portion of your "six-pack" abdominal muscles). I would also recommend that you wait until your son is at least 6-12 months old. It's remarkable how much natural skin shrinkage women obtain after giving birth. Breast feeding really helps get rid of the extra weight, and is good for your baby too.

Recovery time after tummy tuck

We try to have young mothers lift their babies as little as possible. Certainly the 16 month old can walk with assistance although they would love to be carried. I speak from very recent experience, and how can you deny them when they look at you and hold their arms out? Beyond those guidelines, I know young mothers ignore my advice on lifting, simply because they have no other choice. The recurrenrce rate of the tightening of the fascia is almost nonexistent, from my experience, but if an... more

Tummy Tuck and Lifting

Hi, You will really need to wait 6 weeks before lifting anything heavy, including your kids. also, if you have a 3 month old son, I would suggest waiting for another 3-6 months prior to any surgery, as your abdomen should come down a bit from where it is now. Ideally, when you schedule your surgery, plan to have someone around for a week or so to help out, and then ask your spouse or partner to help with any lifting for several weeks after that. Good luck.

Recovery from Tummy Tuck

A full tummy tuck to include plication or repair of the rectus muscles requires at least 2 weeks without lifting anything more than a pound or two. Lifting children could result in tearing of the repair. From 2-6 weeks after surgery gentle lifting with good technique is possible but the danger of injury is still possible. I would recommend you consider surgery when you children are older.

Lifting restrictions and activity limitations following tummy tuck (abdominoplasty)

It is not specifically the strict weight of lifting that concerns us but the use of the stomach muscles. I have had one person. who was accustomed to having a bowel movement everyday, strain so intensely that they ruptured the muscle repair. Our concerns with lifting are related to two features: The potential for bleeding in the first 24 hours and then again between 7-10 days The possibility of rupturing the muscle repair. This can occur anytime for 6 weeks after surgery. However, the... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

32 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Lifting and child care after abdominoplasty

It's hard to suppress the maternal instinct for a while after having a tummy tuck when you have small children, but you do need to focus on your own recovery. Nearly always, when a tummy tuck is needed after pregnancies, the muscles need to be pulled and sutured into their original position. This is analogous to a hernia repair and takes 6 weeks for complete healing. However, you should be able to do most routine activities within a week, just be careful.

Need help with kids for one week after tummy tuck.

Hi. We tell our patients to arrange for help with child care for one week after a tummy tuck. Your 3 month old you can hold right away, but let someone else toss your daughter for the first few days. You will heal faster.

Recovery after Abdominoplasty

Recovery after Abdominoplasty is related to three things. One is the tightening of the midline muscles (the abs) and whether any other muscle fascia (the covering of the muscles) is tightened. Because lifting causes pull on the stitches, lifting is relatively uncomfortable for up to several weeks. The second problem is the inferior incision. We put the upper abdominal skin back to the lower abdominal skin under significant tension. This prevents the skin of the abdomen from loosening again... more

Lifting after tummy tuck

There is no good answer to this question, every plastic surgeon has their own protocl. The point of lifting restriction is that during the tummy tuck procedure the abdominal muscle cover, the fascia, is stitched together to tuck in the looseness. Lifting puts stress on the stitching. If you stress the stitches you will cause yourself pain and you might pop the stitches. If you are careful and are in a controlled situation you can slowly lift things. I tell my patients to use their pain... more

Tummy tuck and exercise

I generally recommend waiting 6 weeks after a tummy tuck before performing heavy exercise such as lifting a child. The strain can put tension on the wounds and the underlying tissues. Also there is a greater chance of seroma which is collection of fluid under skin with more exercise.

Lifting and Straining after a Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)

The central feature of every Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) is a repair of the midline by bringing the 6 pack (rectus abdominis) muscles which were split and pushed sideways by your pregnancies back to the midline. The extent of repair and tightening of this diastasis varies between different surgeons - some performing much tighter repair than others. But all of us do it. If you begin to lift, to bear down, to do sit ups etc you would be causing serious sideways pulling on this repair and risk... more