I Am 18 Days Post-Op TT & Lipo and Still in Major Pain, is This Normal? (photo)

You may still have some residual pain at this point.  I would return to your plastic surgeon to see if there is another cause of the pain like a fluid collection.

Sorry that you are in so much pain.  TT can be painful and uncomfortable.  However, by now, you should be starting to feel better, and should not be using a walker at this time.  It is important to control your pain and be able to walk around.  Talk to your plastic surgeon - there are several options for pain med. 

It appears from your photos that you have undergone some form of an extended tummy tuck.  Looks like your incisions are healing well.  You need to call your plastic surgeon's office about your pain.    There may be other medications they can prescribe to get you more comfortable.  In addition, please follow your plastic surgeon's postoperative care instructions (i.e. compression garments, activity limitations, etc).  Best of luck.

Dr. Basu

Houston, TX

This severity of pain is unusual at this time point, but could be due to specific aspects of the surgery such as the tightening of abdominal muscles, which my patients frequently attribute to muscle spasms.  There are medications which help this type of pain better than narcotics.  Also occasionally specific nerves are pinched or injured simply on the basis of the incision needed to perform your surgery.

I would try to discuss the specific pain characteristics that you are experiencing and hopefully you can get a satisfactory answer and possible treatments or strategies that will help with your discomfort better.

I am sorry to hear about the severity of your pain. You have had an extremely long incision but, at 18 days postop, this level of pain is unusual. You should discuss it with your plastic surgeon; pain management is an art and there are plenty of things on the continuum between narcotics and Tylenol. It is atypical to need to use a walker and to be unable to go from room to room as you describe at this point. I recommend that you see your plastic surgeon and be worked up to rule out any complications which could be manifested by this degree of pain.

I'm sorry to hear about the continued pain after tummy tuck surgery. As you can imagine, online consultants will not be able to help you directly. My best suggestion would be to communicate ( and  preferably see)  with your plastic surgeon again. Direct examination will be important to rule out complication causing your symptoms. Otherwise, improved pain control seems to be indicated.

Every patients' pain threshold and experience is different after tummy tuck surgery;  in my experience, it is not unusual for patients who require stronger pain medications and/or muscle relaxants for several  additional weeks.

Again, call ( or have a family member call)  your plastic surgeon's office;  communicate the level of discomfort you are  continuing to experience.  Hopefully this communication will result in efforts to improve pain control.

Best wishes.

18 days is still pretty early, but most people begin to see some relief from pain.  If your muscles were tightened you will have extra discomfort.  Pain meds and muscle relaxers would help, and your doctor should be willing to provide these, especially while the drains are still in place.  Other causes of pain include entrapped nerves and infections.  

 

Give it a few more days and try to get your doctor to prescribe a muscle relaxer/sleep aid.  Walk around as much as possible.