Lifting my Baby After Tummy Tuck and Plastic Surgery

Thank you for your question. You definitely want to follow your own
surgeon's post-op activity instructions. This is a general guide I give
to my patients as to the recovery after mommy makeoverWeek 1) Discomfort and tightness
level progressively decreases with each day. Swelling decreases a great
deal after one week. Week
2) Unlikely to need any narcotic support except maybe at night.
Swelling and tightness continues to improve compared to week 1Weeks
3-6) May need tylenol or ibuprofen for intermittent discomfort.
Swelling completely resolved. Tightness may continue as the implants
over an additional few months into their final position. Most people return to work in some capacity during this phase.As far as activity, here is a safe guide:1) No heavy lifting or strenuous activity for 6 weeks (a gallon of milk as a guide).2) Resume walking at a leisurely pace right after surgery (e.g. 2 mph)3) At 2 weeks, you can walk 2 miles at 2mph4) At 3 weeks, you can walk 3 miles at 3mph5) At 4 weeks, you can walk 4 miles at 4mph6) At 5 weeks, you can jog 5 miles at 5mph7)
At 6 weeks, you can resume all activities, but listen to your body and
use discomfort or tightness as a guide so you don't over do it. So
as far as the little ones, I would recommend having help for basic
needs like lifting into the car seat. You can cuddle with them while
you are sitting down, but you should avoid the tendency to multitask
with one child in your arms while you are busy doing other tasks.

Thank you for your question regarding when it's appropriate to lift your baby after undergoing a tummy tuck, breast lift, and inner thigh liposuction.

Based on the surgeries you're planning to have, I suggest refraining from carrying your baby for about a month after your tummy tuck. This conservative approach is to ensure that your abdominal area, which undergoes significant modification during a tummy tuck, has ample time to heal without the strain of lifting. Lifting too early can compromise your surgical results, potentially leading to complications such as hernias or separation of the repaired muscles.

A week post-surgery is generally considered too soon to start lifting anything significant, including a baby, especially after the combination of procedures you will have. Your body needs time to recover from the trauma of surgery, and lifting can increase swelling, pain, and the risk of injury to the surgery sites.

Please discuss this further with your surgeon, as they might have specific reasons based on your individual case for their recommendation. It's important to follow a recovery plan tailored to your personal health, the extent of the surgery, and your body's response to the procedure.

Make arrangements to have help around the house, particularly for tasks that involve lifting, bending, and strenuous activities, during the first few weeks of your recovery. This support will be crucial in ensuring you heal well and can return to all your usual activities, including caring for your baby, safely.

Sincerely,

J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FASMBS, FICS
Plastic and Aesthetic Surgeon

Thank you for your question. It is hard to provided with a valid medical opinion without photos.  I would suggest to be treated by board certificated plastic surgeon with experience in this procedure, to get the best desired results.
Kind Regards,Dr. Emmanuel Mallol Cotes.-

It’s not unusual for abdominoplasty patients to have small
children at home.Unfortunately lifting
children following abdominoplasty surgery can adversely impact the results of
this procedure.Abdominoplasty
with muscle plication can be adversely impacted by heavy lifting.Under these circumstances, muscles can be
torn and bleeding can result.For
this reason we generally recommend minimal lifting in the first two weeks,
following surgery.We also don’t
recommend lifting more than twenty pounds for four to six weeks after
surgery.We also instruct patients to
allow their children to crawl onto their laps rather than lift them in an
upward direction.This approach
hopefully minimizes complications in the post-operative period.

Your doctor is right, you probably would not damage any of the operation by lifting a small child.  However, make certain you don't drop your child if you encounter pain as the abdominal muscles rebel at first.

While a plastic surgeon advises a patient to refrain from heavy lifting after surgery, it is also prudent to regain normal function as soon as possible. Lifting a twenty pound object after surgery may be difficult as the added strain may cause you to lose balance, or even drop something that you are lifting. Moreover, you may pull a muscle or a suture line that is vital to outcome.
Lifting a twenty pound child is even more difficult because it is a sustained strenuous task. Although your surgeon is best capable of advising you on his surgery, in my practice, I advise patients to refrain from lifting anything heavier than a yellow pages book for 4 to 6 weeks.
If you are contemplating surgery, plan a a requiem where you will be resting. If this is not feasible, find a suitable period of time when you can before embarking on such a procedure.

Combining those three operations may extend your recovery time. This may make it more difficult for you to safely lift your child after one week. Lifting objects heavier than 20 lbs can compromise the rectus repair in the first few weeks post-operatively.
At two weeks this repair is actually at its weakest and gains strength thereafter.
In addition, in my San Francisco area practice we remind patients that children are just weight - they can wiggle and squirm causing you to need to adjust in unexpected ways. This can you to have to use more muscle force than you might anticipate.
Discuss these concerns carefully with your surgeon. If you and the surgeon still wish to perform all of these procedures at the same time it may make some sense to make sure you have some help at home.
I hope this helps.

Generally most tummy tucks involve muscle repairs (similar to a hernia) that require a minimum of 6 weeks to gain sufficient scar tissue to reinforce the repair. Most general surgeons advise patients to wait at least 3-4 weeks before resuming activities. I suggest similar guidelines to my patients. However, it really depends on your tummy tuck ; if you don't have a muscle repair, this restriction is not as important.

If you do have to lift avoid bending over and straining. Have your partner hand your child to you. Bend your knees and lift more with your legs than your back and stomach muscles. Have a partner do the lifitng for you.

Patients also have two periods of potential bleeding that occurs after any surgery. T

This is the initial 24 hour period when helpful clots form on the vessels that are transected during surgery and vasospasm (clamping down of the vessels) relax and open up.
And then a small time frame between 7-10 days aftTer surgery when the clots breakdown (fibrinolysis) and blood vessels can potentially open up and bleed.

Other than good control of bleeding during surgery, we like to keep patients calm, pain controlled, and gently compressed (like a nose bleed) in the first 24 hours.
During that second period we advise limited activity and straining (that includes lifting your 7 mos old).
Hope this helps.

Generally lifting restrictions are in place after a tummy tuck with muscle repair, which includes lifting children. Lifting more than 10 lbs is restricted typically for the for the first six weeks after your surgery. I encourage you to discuss your concerns further with your surgeon.

Thank you for the question.As you know the tummy tuck operation is a major operation;  every patient experiences a different recovery course. This makes it difficult to discuss “general rules of thumb”.I would suggest planning for the worst-case scenario which will hopefully be about 4-6 weeks away from child care activities. Your  plastic surgeon will help guide you  with activity level depending on how your recovery proceeds.I hope this, and the attached link, helps.