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Travel 5 Weeks After Abdominoplasty?

asked 1 year ago by esb in Chappaqua, NY
Latest answer by George Commons, MD
Question viewed 353 times
Tags: 2 months post-op, travel

Can I have a full tummy tuck and travel (for a month) 5 weeks after the surgery? Would I be able to wear a bathing suit 5 weeks post surgery? If I will still be swollen and uncomfortable I may opt to have the surgery at another time.

12 answers to Travel 5 Weeks After Abdominoplasty?

Recovery and Travel after Tummy Tuck / Abdominoplasty

You an travel as early as two weeks after a tummy tuck but you are not allowed to lift anything more than 20 lbs for the first 6-8 weeks. you will continue to have swelling for 2 months after surgery depending on your activity level. you can jog about 3 weeks after surgery.

S. Sean Younai, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

www.beautifulself.com

When Can I Travel After a Tummy Tuck?

Dear esb, Unfortunately, there is no way to definitely answer your question. Traveling five weeks after a tummy tuck will be ok for most patients if the postoperative recovery goes smoothly and you are not planning to do a lot of strenuous activities. However, a few factors could make traveling more difficult or even inadvisable: (1) if a complication such as delayed healing occurs, the recovery process may be slowed down, and additional care may be required; (2) if a late complication... more

Larry Fan, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

Abdominoplasty Recovery

At 3 weeks after you tummy tuck you wounds are 90% tensile strength. At this point I let and encourage patient to do whatever they want and have zero limitations. Your will be fine. I believe in early and aggressive activity after surgery with a walk dont run start on the eve of surgery. Slowly and gently I have patients to 100% at 3 weeks. Unless you have some extreme requirements of using mesh to close a hernia etc you should be very fine at 5... more

George Commons, MD
Palo Alto Plastic Surgeon

www.pacfps.com

Not recommended to take 1 month vacation 5 weeks after a tummy tuck

If you want to take minimum risk, enjoy your vacation and not have restrictions, you should consider postponing your tummy tuck until after you return from your month long vacation. Yes, it is theoretically possible to go on such a vacation 5 weeks after surgery but there would be some restrictions of activities including heavy lifting, typically until 8 weeks following surgery. If you did experience some issues and were either out of the country or in a somewhat remote area, that could be... more

Steven Turkeltaub, MD
Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon

www.turkeltaub.com

Maybe

Anything is possible, but it all depends on you. Are you skinny and this is just tightening the skin? Your best bet is to ask the surgeon operating on you, not doctors who have never seen you.

William B. Rosenblatt, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Travel five weeks after tummy tuck

Travel is possible, though if the trip and swimming etc. are important to you the tummy tuck probably should wait until after. A month long trip may be a bit too ambitious. Best of luck, peterejohnsonmd

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Travel after tummy tuck

Not an easy question to answer because it depends on your healing process and everyone heals differently. The short answer is that your probably should wait till after your trip to do this. You need to give your body some time to heal and nothing should compromise that.

Bhupesh Vasisht, MD
Voorhees Plastic Surgeon

Travel 5 weeks after tummy tuck

Every patient is a bit different in how they heal. I generally don't let patients do any heavy exercise or lifting for 6 weeks after surgery. It may be ok to take a short trip somewhere not so far away, but I wouldn't advise planning a major trip to some far off destination. It's hard to say exactly how you are going to feel, and everyone is a bit different in their recovery. You have to anticipate things like carrying luggage. And, should you have an issue, you don't want to be too far away... more

B. Aviva Preminger, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Travel 5 weeks after abdominoplasty

Most people are doing very well 4-6 weeks after tummy tuck. That being said, most people are still a little swollen and the incision line is still red, and your bathing beauty body may not be ready for its inaugural exposure, in which case you should select your bathing suit well. If you are traveling to a vacation home you should be fine. On the other hand, I would caution against 4 weeks of travel to a warm climate, shortly after a tummy tuck. ... more

Beverly Friedlander, MD
Short Hills Plastic Surgeon

Traveling five weeks after tummy tuck

"When can I travel" after cosmetic surgery is a common question and has to be individually applied. This depends on a few factors. Where are you going, i.e. how far from home. What are you planning to do? Lie on the beach or go climb Mount Everest? How long are you going to be gone? (for you a month.) As you are planning a month long trip, I would not recommend a tummy tuck 5 weeks prior unless you are going to be traveling to a close... more

Gordon Lewis, MD
Richmond Plastic Surgeon

Travel after Abdominoplasty

I suggest you go on your trip first - that way you will have nothing to worry about regarding your healing or potential complications.

Stephan Baker, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Tummy tuck

It generally takes about 6 weeks or so after a tummy tuck operation to feel good and more or less normal. You may continue to have periods of discomfort and some swelling but by and large will be able to return to work and travel. This is assuming that you will heal without any complications such as wound breakdown etc. You should never had a real rigid schedule after elective surgery as things may not exactly progress as planned on occassion. You should never feel stressed... more