I had a mastectomy/DIEP flap surgery in March of this year. My tummy is still painfully swollen, sometimes worse than other times depending on the time of day and the extent of my activity. I'm up 3 pant sizes and can't stand any sort of waist band. The swelling is above and below the incision site, sometimes all the way from top of my rib cage to my pubic bone. Is permanent lymphedema possible after tummy tuck? Should I be getting massages, is there surgery that can help? Thank you!
Answers (3)
From board-certified doctors and trusted medical professionals
If you have a medical condition such as hypothyroidism then you will need to have medical clearance prior to considering surgery. I would also be good if you could get your weight down about 50 pounds prior to surgery. If you absolultely can not lose weigth you would most likely be okay
You need to be calling your surgeon's office for problems right after surgery. The stripping can put suction pressure on a nerve, causing intense pain. I personally do not have patients strip drains.
Thank you very much for your question. I normally tell my patients to wait four weeks
before swimming in a swimming pool or the ocean. However, this is dependent on them having a
completely healed wound, without any problems.
This is certainly a question which you should discuss with your...