Exercise After Tummy Tuck with Only Skin Removal and Lipo

Exercise is important after any cosmetic procedure. however it is important for healing to take place. Even with liposuction or skin removal early exercise can cause either bleeding or the formation of a seroma.

It is best to follow your surgeon's advice. While it is theoretically possible to exercise at an earlier date such as 2 weeks, it is possible to increase the risks of seroma or hematoma or wound separation, in which case you will require treatment by you surgeon. Therefore, discuss this with him/her prior to intiating this on your own. see video

My patients are allowed to return to athletic activity in about 2 weeks after a tummy tuck if the fascial repair was not part of the operation.   These are "my" patients and their specific issues are dealt with by my judgment.  I would be very upset if they followed the advice of another plastic surgeon because it sounded better than mine.

Without muscle plication, the recover period for a tummy tuck is shorter. However, this decision should be made by your plastic surgeon and not by a poll on this website. Your surgeon is (presumably) following your postoperative course closely and monitoring you as you heal. Considerations as far drain outputs and incision integrity weigh heavily in these decisions. Also, depending on the postoperative garment, working-out may be quite uncomfortable. Be sure to bring these issues up with... more

A tummy tuck is a very popular and effective technique to recontour the abdomen. As each patient is unique so should every tummy tuck be different. It seems that in your case, the muscles did not need to be tightened and so the treatment was only done on the skin and extra fat. Although you did not have a muscle repair, you should still take care not to put undue tension onto your tummy tuck incision. In our practice, we asked our patients to refrain from exercise such as situps or using... more

I would review the post-op care with yoru surgeon. Usually hI have patients refrain from aerobic activity for 3-4 weeks and then heavy lifting and sit-ups for 6-8 weeks.

Dear Lara, You are correct that most of us restrict patients from exercise for 6 weeks after a tummy tuck, and this is due to the muscle tightening part of the procedure. As you did not have the rectus plication, you might be able to resume exercise sooner-- but you could be restricted by the liposuction component. (I do not like my liposuction patients to exercise for 3 weeks after surgery, as the motion of the skin over the muscles may lead to seromas.) The person who is best suited... more

Your surgeon, by far, is the best judge of when you should return to a strenuous exercise regimen. He or she performed every aspect of the procedure and made recommendations regarding your return to an exercise regimen based on his or her clinical judgment. If your surgeon wants you to wait, then you should wait. That being said, most of us restrict patients from returning to an exercise regimen for 6-8 weeks to protect the muscle plication (tightening). If you haven't yet asked your... more