How Long Should You Wear Your Binder/Garment for After a Tummy Tuck?

Hello and Great Question. I know there is a significant amount of debate on this topic. I feel you should wear both a binder and a compression garment. I also think these should be worn at all times for 6 weeks after surgery. Then, I think you should wear the garment for an additional 6 weeks during the daytime. Why? My Tummy tucks include liposuction. This really helps to bring in the waist and create that “hour-glass” shape. It also allows me to remove fat from the upper part of the abdomen. This helps to sculpt a 3-Dimensional Torso. Liposuction is a great adjunct, but it causes the remaining fat to swell. The compression garment and binder help to put pressure and reduce the swelling getting you a quicker recovery and quicker final results.
The Tummy Tuck itself involves lifting your tummy skin and tightening. The end goal is getting that tummy skin to be “tight and flat”. Thus, creating a tight and fit tummy. How do we make sure that the tummy skin heals in the area we want it? By utilizing compression garments and binders. In addition, the use of binders and compression garments minimize the length of a drain; and potentially does not require us to utilize drains at all!
Alright, so compression garments and binders are good, but why do they need to be utilized for so long? Because it takes time to heal. The majority of healing takes about 6 weeks and this is why the compression garments and binders are worn at all times, except when showering, for the first 6 weeks. Swelling happens from any surgery. The swelling in a tummy tuck can last for about 3 months and this swelling can “hide” the hour glass figure. This is why you can stop wearing the binder after 6 weeks, but I still want you to continue the compression garment for another 6 weeks during the daytime only.


I hope that helps. Best of Luck!

There are different garments made for different stages of your recovery. Immediately after tummy tuck, it is nearly impossible to put on a compression garment that does not have zippers or hook & eye closures or a wrap that does not have Velcro (These are known as first stage compression garments). It takes a couple weeks for enough swelling to go down and for the patient to be comfortable enough to wear a zipperless compression garment (These are known as second stage garments). These zipperless garments still have the surgery-specific extras built into them, such as an open crotch design.Then there are third stage garments. These compression garments are designed to be used long term on a regular basis and look more like undergarments or sometimes like normal athletic wear. For instance, the garments I recommend look like camisoles and leggings but have 15-20 mmHg compression when sized properly. You should continue to wear these garments as long as you have swelling, which is typically 4-6 weeks. Then, you can gradually wear them less and less until you no longer need the support. Spanx also fall under this category. Unfortunately, their compression is not necessarily even for all body types, as patients are so quick to tell me. When compression is uneven, the garment can cause creases, bulges and folds to occur.Most patients find it more comfortable to continue wearing compression garments when they are working out. Studies have shown that you are less likely to have an injury, suffer from fatigue, and can increase your efficiency when using compression garments during strenuous activities. In the past 2 years, you may have noticed more athletes, especially soccer and basketball professionals, wearing them for these benefits. There is no reason why you should not take care of yourself like athletes do. You have invested a great deal of time and money into your surgery and you deserve the best results.

Nicole123,
This is a great question that you will get a vast range of opinions about. There's probably no clear data or study that has shown improvement with the use of abdominal binders or pressure garments, nor the suggested duration of its use.  This is where plastic surgery becomes more of an art than science and a lot of the suggested use or duration is probably anecdotal.  
Those surgeons who promote their use were probably trained to do so or felt through their experience that patients had better results.  Those who don't, have probably seen no difference with garments use.
With that said, possibly due to my training, I do encourage patients to use abdominal binders and pressure garments.  For a tummy tuck, I encourage use of an abdominal binder for the first week post-op, simply because they are easier to remove and placed back on, especially if there are still drains.  Once drains are removed, which is usually at the one week post-op mark, then I switch my patients to a pressure garment.  I encouraged pressure garment use at all times, except while bathing, for about 6 weeks. 
Most patients are compliant with that and actually feel more comfortable and reassured when they have pressure on their abdomen.  Some even say that it helps with pain.  
In general, most patients have already gone through the mental thought process of deciding to undergo the procedure and the financial cost of the procedure that they would prefer to use an abdominal binder and pressure garment to help achieve their aesthetic goals.  

I usually have patients wear some type of compression for around 6 weeks.  Some times people feel more comfortable wearing compression for a longer period of time and this is fine.

I recommend my patients wear a compression garment for one month following their tummy tuck surgery.  If patients want to wear it longer this is fine.  I find that patients generally do not like the garment after the first week but then do not want to stop wearing it after one month.  

You should wear a compression garment after tummy tuck for a minimum of 6 weeks, but preferably for 3 months. This will help with the swelling, especially as you resume more activity postop.

After a tummy tuck, patients must wear a compression garment for a period of 2 months to keep the abdomen tight for a faster healing and to reduce swelling.

Depending on the extent of the procedure, I have my patients wear an abdominal binder for 4-8 weeks post surgery. I keep the binder snug, but not tight to where it is painful, hard to breathe or can cut off blood supply to the skin. The binder helps the tissues heal and helps resolve the swelling more rapidly in my experience. Some patients actually like the feeling of the snug abdominal binder/girdle and may wear it for several months or more post operatively.

This is a great question and something I think is variable from person to person. I spend a lot of time talking about compression in the post operative period and apply a regime that starts with a garment and binder day and night and then I gradually start reducing this at the 6 - 8 weeks post operative phase, dependant on how well the body swelling is responding to the compression. By four months most patients are just wearing the garment during the day but still advised to use both during exercise - up to six to nine months post operative. I'm sure that some of my patients curse my name during this phase but I happy to accept it as a good compression regime will give good results. Some of my patients reversely insist on carrying on wearing the compression even after 9 months and there is no doubt that these patients have the best results. Be guided by your plastic surgeon.

I recommend using compression garments after a tummy tuck procedure to get good results. A valcro type binder for first 4-6 weeks and then a second stage softer compression garments for 4-6 months to help in getting swelling down and to get a good results. It is vital to use a good quality compression garments.

All our patients are advised to wear a compression garment following abdominoplasty surgery.

We will measure you prior to surgery to ensure you get the correct fitting compression garments.  These will be required to be worn for the first 6 weeks to ensure it holds and supports your abdominal area for the best recovery and results possible.  The garments also help to reduce swelling.