Water Pills po op Lipo and tummy tuck

I do not prescribe any "water pills"/diuretics after liposuction and/or tummy tucks.  Swelling generally resolves over time.  Additionally, I am concerned with possible interactions of diuretics with patients' long standing medical conditions or other medications.  If you choose to use diuretics, I would follow the direction(s) of your plastic surgeon and medical doctor carefully.  Good luck and be safe.

Water pills or diuretics should not be used for routine swelling after tummy tuck or liposuction surgery. Swelling is a part of the normal recovery process and will resolve with time. Diuretics can be dangerous and should only be prescribed by physicians confident in their use and certain of their dosing and side effects. Liposuction, in particular, involves a significant stress on the body's ability to handle fluid shifts and electrolyte imbalance. Complicating things with the use of diuretics can lead to unnecessary complications. The safest thing to do is to let nature take its course and allow the body to resolve swelling without the use of these medications.   

Thank you for the question.These can definitely help. In my practice, I always suggest my patients to have 2-3 lymphatic massages in which this helps with the swelling.Dr. Campos

It is not advisable to routinely use diuretics after these procedures.  Swelling is part of the normal healing process and typically resolves over time.  Most plastic surgeons will use compression garments to help things along.  You should limit your activity during the early post operative phase as too much can increase swelling. 

Use of diuretics or "water pills" after procedures like liposuction is not a good idea. The procedure produces significant tissue injury. Part of the response to this is to pull fluid out of the circulation into the area to replace the cells that have been removed. This is going to happen no matter what you do. This is why we encourage you to drink significantly such things as juices and Gator Aid for the first 24 hours. If you use a diuretic, the kidneys also remove fluid from the circulation. This combination can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure that can even be fatal if it drops enough, particularly if you have not replaced enough fluid by drinking and intra and immediate post op IV's.