4 days post under arm lipo, and was left with no compression garment, I hear fluid when I raise my arms, advice?

I recommend following up with your Doctor about their protocol regarding compression. I have my patients wear customized compression for 3-6 weeks straight then overnight for 3-6 months after their procedure. For liposuction after care, I recommend adding hyperbaric oxygen and lymphatic massage along with your compression to help decrease swelling. To improve your final results, I also recommend adding vanquish for further fat removal, exilis/venus legacy for skin tightening, cellutone/z wave to make the skin smooth, remove scar tissue, and improve the skin’s appearance. Best, Dr. Emer

Thank you for your questions. This is likely due to edema and swelling in the tissues. It is possible that compression could help, but I would defer to your surgeon on your appropriate post-op instructions. You need to touch base with him or her for instructions. Good luck!

12dr.   I appreciate your concern, but that area of your body is difficult to compress adequately with various types of compression garments available. I believe that the fluid that you hear is probably remnant of the fluid injected as part of your liposuction procedure.  You should still come away with an excellent outcome from your procedure, but swelling may persist a bit longer because of the difficulty in compression of that area. Try to stay patient and follow up with you Plastic Surgeon. Best of luck. 

Dear 12dr,every plastic surgeon has his own postoperative protocol which he recommends to his patients. I would suggest you to discuss this with your plastic surgeon.Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Congratulations on your surgery. The fluid you hear could be two things. It's either some residual fluid from your procedure that still needs to be absorbed, or it could be a fluid collection which is starting to form because the body is unable to absorb all of the fluid. You can try and get a long sleeve exercise shirt which would offer some compression in that area. Either way I would discuss this with your surgeon to see what they think.Best,~Dr. Sieber

 Not all surgeons use compression garments. If you think you have fluid in your arms you should discuss this with your surgeon.

Given your description you may benefit from wearing a compression garment and/or sports compression wraps or tape.  Check with your surgeon for their recommendation in  your particular case.  Best wishes, Dr. Lepore.