Getting Lipo and Going on Vacation 5 Weeks After, Enough Time for Recovery?

Recovery after liposuction varies depending on the type, extent, and amount of liposuction. Although you can be very active within a week after liposuction, you will have much swelling and inflammation for at least 8 weeks after liposuction. Some people will still have some bruising after 8 week. It is no a good idea to sun bath or to get a tan when you still have bruising, because you can develope areas of hyperpigmentation.

Therefore, you can go on vacation within  weeks after a liposuction.

Activities after #LiposuctionBruising and swelling are normal in the suctioned areas and usually increase slightly after the removal of any tape or foam. The bruising will decrease over 3-4 weeks, but may last as long as 6 weeks. The majority of the swelling will be gone within the first 3-4 weeks. However it may take 6-9 months to disappear completely. The compression garment helps reduce the swelling, and the longer it is worn, the more quickly the process will proceed.As with all operations, pain and discomfort varies greatly from patient to patient. Generally, one should expect that pain medication will be required for the first several days. Continuing discomfort can last varying amounts of time. Much of the swelling and bruising will be improved by two weeks; however, some will persist for 6 to 8 weeks. It is often difficult to see significant changes in the body shape before this time. You should be able to enjoy your vacation, but keep in mind that there will still be some possible bruising and swelling.

Unless there is a rare complication, you should certainly be able to travel. Bruising will be gone by then, but the surface can still be somewhat swollen and irregular making you uncomfortable to wear a bathing suit possibly.

Most patients after tumescent liposuction under local anesthesia can have a great time on their vacation in as little as 2-3 weeks since we start exercising at 1 week.  Enjoy,

David Hansen,MD

You shoul be able to return to normal activity within days after liposuction. It usually takes about two weeks to resume strenuous exercise. Most of the swelling and bruising after liposuction is resolved after 4-6 weeks. You should be able to go on vacation 5 weeks after liposuction, keeping in mind that there will still be some minor swelling.

Dear Cho,

Most patients are able to resume normal activities within a few days to a week and strenuous activities after a week or two following liposuction. Five weeks should be enough time to recover before going on vacation, provided you have a normal recovery, although you may still have some minor swelling.

Warmest wishes,

Larry Fan, MD

Not knowing exactly what you are doing and how much liposuction is planned it is hard to comment specifically. In general, liposuction is a quick recovery and five weeks in adequate for most activities, Of course it depends on the specific activity. The other consideration is if any common complication develops such as hematoma, seroma, or skin problems, deep vein thrombosis, etc. DIscuss this with your surgeon. Many of these issues can be resoved sufficiently to allow you to go on a unstrenuouos vacation, as opposed to climg Mt. Fuji. But you need to be comfortable with the possibility of needing to treat this problems. It is a matter of priority. Is the cancellation of your trip more disagreeable to you than putting off your surgery? I suspect that  five weeks is enough time for recovery after careful, minor amounts of liposuction (a few hundred cc's from each area). 

Robin T.W. Yuan, M.D.

Hi Cho,

It depends on exactly what you mean.  At 5-6 weeks post-op you will almost certainly feel well enough to go away on a vacation, and do nearly everything.  I generally advise my patients that there is no exercise for three weeks post-op and then, at that point, they can start slowly and advance as tolerated.  Most people start with gentle stretching and then proceed with more and more exercise.

On the other hand, you may not be fully yourself at that point.  Bruises are usually long gone by then, but extensive exposure to strong sun can "bring them out" again to varying degrees.  So if you're planning a "sun" vacation, you may need to cover up some of the areas that have been operated upon.

And it takes a while to see the final results of the surgery:  about 4-6 weeks for 85% of the result, 3 months for 95% and up to six months for all of it (or even longer). 

There's nothing wrong with doing the surgery in this time-frame - many people spend much less time near their surgeons after procedures such as these and do very well - but you should know the time-line and make sure that for this, as for all other aspects of your surgery, you and your surgeon are on the same page.

I hope that this helps, and good luck,

Dr. E

though you certainly will not be in a "final" state with respect to your ultimate result, you will almost certainly be just fine to go on vacation with no restrictions 5 weeks after the lipo procedure you outlined.this assumes a relatively normal postop course without any significant complications.