How Does a Compression Garment Help After Liposuction Surgery? (photo)

Great question! I personally have my liposuction patients wear the garment 24/7 except to shower for 4 weeks post op for 3 main reasons:1.) Controlling swelling: the compression on your tissues helps your body to reabsorb the edema fluid that accumulates in the tissues after any procedure. This can take quite some time to happen without help from the compression garments2.) Improving contour: the compression helps to keep the tissues adherent to the underlying structures while healing, this can help prevent the wrinkled skin appearance that can happen when the tissues heal in ways we don't want them to.3.) Improving scarring: pressure has been shown to improve the appearance of scars. A tummy tuck scar is quite long and right on the front of your body so anything that can help make it flatter, softer and less visible is to your advantage.For those reasons many of us would argue that the compression is as important as, if not more important than, the method of liposuction used in determining the final outcome. While a commercial product like spanx will be ok later in the healing process, the surgical compression garments your get from your surgeon have a higher level of compression and should be worn for the first 3-4 weeks at least. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the question. After Liposuction surgery, 3-9 months you still see progress in the performance of the surgery. After 1 month you will still have swellings and it is still early to say something about the final result. You should follow up the progress with your surgeon. I wish you all the best.

Thank you for your question.  Compression following liposuction is important for controlling and reducing swelling, and for maintaining a smooth contour of the treated areas.  Without compression, one could expect a much longer period for recovery of swelling after surgery, and somewhat less predictable final contour.  While there are several good quality brands of surgical garments on the market, I prefer those made by Design Veronique.

It’s not unusual for surgeons to
recommend the use of compression garments following liposuction.Although the majority of plastic surgeons
recommend some type of compression, there are surgeons who don’t always
recommend compression.It’s important to
understand that every patient is unique, and for this reason the use of
compression varies from patient to patient. The
importance of compression garments depends upon a variety of factors.These might include the amount of fat removed
and the patient’s baseline skin laxity, to name a few.In some cases, not wearing a compression garment
may have no significance.In other
cases, it might be the difference between an excellent result and an average
result.Compression
minimizes swelling and decreases post-operative pain.It helps to remodel the soft tissue by
collapsing tunnels created by the liposuction cannula during the
procedure.Compression contributes
significantly to the contour improvement that’s seen with this procedure. Swelling
and water retention following tumescent liposuction can be reduced with
compression, massage, exercise and low-salt diets.These maneuvers ultimately improve the
post-operative experience by minimizing swelling and discomfort following this
procedure. It’s
important to discuss this issue with your surgeon before proceeding with
surgery so you have an understanding of why post-operative compression garments
are important for you.The majority of
plastic surgeons utilize compression garments in most liposuction cases and
feel that it positively impacts the final surgical result.

How does a Compression Garment help after Liposuction? If you have had suction of the knees, thigh, or abdomen, the doctor will have put on a compression garment at the end of the surgery. The extra pressure this garment provides helps reduce swelling and discomfort. You should not remove this garment at all until the second or third day after surgery. After that, feel free to remove the garment temporarily for laundering. We want you to have circumferential pressure for 4-6 weeks, but you may switch to an exercise garment (Lycra or Spandex) whenever it feels comfortable to slip it on or off, as you will have to do so in order to go to the bathroom. See the below link for a more fuller explanation and general advice.

I generally advise patients wear their garment 24 hours a day for three weeks, removing it only when bathing or washing it. From 3 to 6 weeks, wear your garment in the day only. It helps with easing swelling and reducing the risk of seroma. The garment should fit snugly but not to the point that you can't breathe or are feeling sore. It's best to follow your PS's advice or express your concerns directly to them so that they may respond.

Compression garments may minimize bruising, and by the pressure on the surgically-treated area, they may facilitate having less of a risk of a hematoma or even a seroma. The end result with or without a compression garment may be the same, but many patients feel less sore by wearing the compression in the first several weeks after liposuction.

Compressive garments absolutely make a big difference, however, not all garments are the same.  There are different "weave" technologies in the type of garment design and quite frankly some work better than others.  We have done scientific research in our practice in regards to the type of "weave" technology and found it makes a difference.  The idea with compression garments after liposuction is to encourage resolution of swelling and facilitate skin retraction after the contour improvement.  Garden variety "spanks" are not the as specialty garments designed for liposuction/body sculting.  We also utilized special foam technology in order to "target" certain areas for enhanced skin retraction after liposuction.  Compression garment are no good without a well trained team of post-lymphatic massage specialists.  There is a need to have compression as well as the appropriate massages in order to facilitate the shrinkage and contour improvements but without getting untoward scar tissue.  We typically use our garments for three weeks 24 hours a day, followed by three weeks at night only.  I hope this helps!

Sincerely,

James F. Boynton, M.D., F.A.C.S.

HiThanks for your question.Compression garments help by decreasing swelling and actually shaping the suctioned area, which helps with the eventual result. Without compression the area would swell and take longer to achieve its final contour. There are different types and there's not one that is necessarily better.I hope this helps....

Great question! Compression garments are tight-fitting elastic garments that are placed on the body immediately following liposuction. They serve multiple purposes, including helping the skin adhere, controlling swelling, and preventing excess fluid from building up in the tissues. They are typically worn around the clock for the first week or so. At a week to 10 days, the garment can be removed to shower, though you'll likely have to wear it for an additional week.