Michelle Sieffert, MD

Hi and thanks for your question!

Patients can expect to see final liposuction results after three months. Liposuction involves removing the fat between the skin and muscle, so during these three months, the patient will experience a lot of swelling in the area. This is also the time in which the skin is shrinking down to the size of the body after the fat removal. Skin laxity is something that the surgeon will need to consider when performing liposuction. Without adequate skin laxity, the patient should consider a tummy tuck or lift (removal of the excess skin), because excess skin may take away from the desired look that patients want to achieve from liposuction.

According to the case above, the patient experienced some immediate results that disappeared within weeks. Theoretically, it a patient experiences immediate results, then those results should only improve over time. Weight gain is a possible reason for the results to disappear in the way described. Excess skin that was not addressed during surgery could also be masking the results.

A breast reduction involves reducing the size of the breast as well as lifting it. Meanwhile, a breast lift consists of lifting the nipple up and removing the extra skin from the bottom of the breast- this does not change the size. However, lifts sometimes create the appearance of a smaller breast.

Recovery time for breast reconstruction can vary dependent on the reconstruction method. Reconstruction is either done with implants, tissue expanders, or the patient’s own tissue. Your plastic surgeon will be able to discuss the basics of these surgeries with you.

Two weeks to a month is typically the time range it takes to recover from implant reconstruction. Recovery for women who have had tissue expanders is also quick. However, the process of going through the expansions can take one to three months.

Great question. Yes you certainly can wear a bikini one year after having a tummy tuck!

I advise patients to allow six months of recovery time between a tummy tuck and a specific goal (vacation, event, etc.) to ensure everything is healed. We will also want to address any revisions after the surgery during this period of time. Common revisions include dog ear removals and scar revisions.

Tummy tuck incisions are placed very low along the pubic hair line. Regular pants and most bikinis will cover these scars.

This is a really great question! The goal of a cosmetic surgery is to make a patient feel more confident. However, the recovery process for some surgeries can be tough. Here is some information about what the healing process for a facelift can look like:

The visible signs of recovery will depend on the surgery. A mini facelift will show less than a full face and neck lift during the healing process. Typically, mini facelift patients only need a couple of days of staying home. While their scars will still be visible, there should not be too much swelling at that point. On the other hand, a full face and neck lift can cause prolonged swelling and bruising. Full face and neck lift patients may want to reserve a couple of weeks for staying at home before returning back to social events.

Hope this helped!