Tumescent Liposuction: Stories

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Hardness After Tumescent Liposuction

  • Not Worth It
  • Cost: $3,815
  • Florence, SC

The pros are that I only needed local anesthesia. ...

The pros are that I only needed local anesthesia. The cons are that you don't really get the full picture of what it will take to recover from it. I did it to remove fat in the upper and lower abs.

I had tumescent lipo 12 days ago in the upper and lower abdomin and am experiencing hardness in the whole upper and lower abdominal regions. An OB-GYN performed the procedure.

I was told to massage the areas vigorously across both areas while in the shower. Is that enough or should I insist on other treatment? The areas are quite large and I am very concerned. I have voiced those concerns with my physician and she insists that I need to keep working the area.

Great review?

My Doctor: name not provided

Recovery time is longer than I was led to believe.

Comments (9)

long recovery 8 Jan 2012
These posts are old so I'm not sure anyone is checking them anymore but I would love to hear how things ended up. I had lipo on my stomach and flanks 1 month ago. I am hard almost everywhere. I notice tiny improvements here and there but I can't even come close to exercising. How much longer will this take? I really wasn't expecting to be so incapacitated at this point. I wear the compression garment all the time...if I go for too long without it the hard areas (which are everywhere) begin to bulge out. I have gotten 5 of the lymphatic massages and I feel better for a few hours after but then go back to being hard and uncomfortable. I still can't sit normally or move from one position to the next without feeling a lot of discomfort. I wasn't able to stop pain medication until three weeks out and I still need it if I need to go out at night. Yikes. I did not expect this. I feel like Im a tummy tuck patient instead of a lipo patient.
Destina Miami 4 Apr 2010
I too had this same procedure done 10 days ago. I had it don't on my entire back, waist, and lower stomach. This hole thing is driving me nuts. Its like iam in labor and I don't know when its going to be over. Before you do these things you mostly focus on before and after pictures, but don't even think about what the person actually went through. Its only getting worse. From mild soreness to complete pain. I have knots all over my back, and my stomach. I find it soothing to message the area with baby oil. Sure that helps but a couple of hrs later I find myself back in the same painful codition. Iam to the point where iam thinking what did I get myself into. But its too late now, all I can do is push through the pain and hope for a great after picture. These sites also helps a lot, by me not freaking out. Iam not the only one going through this. Thanks guys, push through the mess we can't go back, what's done is done.
Stealth 26 Jun 2009
I had lymphatic massage today, and the therapist specifically said it is not meant to be vigorous. Vigorous massage, she said, only gets the deeper muscles. The lymphatics that are getting clogged aren't that deep. I would be concerned that vigorous massage is repeatedly injuring the areas, and would recommend a softer, gentler touch. I was also recommended arnica, which I'm taking faithfully, a homeopathic antiinflammatory. we were instructed to take it starting a few days preop, and continue postop. I do have swelling, but manageable (~1wk postop) S
Lipoed in SC 23 Jun 2009
I am 21 days and still have two bricks and am so tender that I hate any clothing touching me. Went to doc and found out I had cellulitis. She put me on the old steroid pack and an antibiotic. Will probably put me on some machine next week to break up the hardness. This certainly is not what I bought into.
long recovery 3 Mar 2012
I am wondering how things turned out for you. I am almost 3 months post surgery. I had lipo on my flanks and abs. I'm still hard in many places, some areas are brick like some are more like ropes. I have finally moved from feeling pain to feeling just uncomfortable...except when I sit after a long day then the backside of my flanks feel like they are burning when I decide to stand up. I still take percocet when I really want to get a good workout in (like a P90X lifting, zumba or snow skiing). Jogging is still not possible. Did your hardness and tenderness ever go away? If so ...how long did it take?
Devina 3 Mar 2012
Well, it's been 3 months shy of 3 years.
It actually took about a year before I started to feel normal. My upper belly still swells and is very uncomfortable if I lift anything heavy, yes to this day.
The flaps in my tummy are gone, I still have some fat in the upper area and they took too much from the lower abdomend. So if the top is swollen at all, It looks abnormal. Would I do it again? Yes, but I would search out a more competent doctor. All the best to you.
Jemell 20 Jun 2009
I am experiencing the same thing but, I had lipo to my back, flanks, hips and waist. I don't mean to make you feel worse but, I am 6 weeks post op and I am very uncomfortable. I made myself wear the compression garment for 6 weeks, it actually felt good to have pressure on it. It gets hard and then soft then hard and then soft. It's driving me mad.
Devina 18 Jun 2009
I had it done a week ago tomorrow. The first couple of days I felt and looked great. Now my whole belly is swollen to the point it feels like it will split. The only place I am comfortable is laying down and I can't stand most fabric touching me. I cannot wear that support garment if my life depended on it. I had my post op appointment yyesterday and was to told to massge and come back in two weeks if no better. What is this, "you can go back to work in a few days and exercise after 7 crap?" I am miserable!!
Devina 26 Jun 2009
I wanted to update after my post of last week as I feel that many people probably don't bother once they start to feel better. It has been two weeks since my procedure and I feel good. I am off all pain medicine now. It was a rough two weeks but the swelling is going down, I am wearing my garment and I can see results. I feel that because of all the scar tissue I had from a major hysterectomy I will have a longer recovery. I still can't do much physically as my stomach gets really hard and uncomfortable. I know it could be weeks before I am back to normal but when I am I'm sure I will be happy I did this. I wanted to mention too that a week after the procedure my doctor paid me a home visit as I was suffering so much with the swelling, brought me a massager and a larger garment. You can't say enough about that! I will update again later. Too all the people who have just had it done and are worried, don't be, it gets better everyday!

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