Will Stop Wearing Garment After Liposuction Ruin Results?

There is a no universal accepted answer regarding compression garments. We know that wearing a compression garment immediately after the procedure can help control the early swelling. Stopping the use of your compression garment 10 days after the procedure will not "ruin" your results. I do recommend a garment for the first 2 weeks as the skin is healing down to the underlying tissues and a garment will prevent shearing forces between the muscle and skin. As always though, your surgeon's answer is the best answer for you so I would encourage checking with them.

My suggestion is try a Spanx which will likely be more comfortable. A compression garment is recommended and beneficial after liposuction because: It restricts the amount of edema that forms and hastens its resolution by mechanical pressure. It decreases the amount of bruising. It assists the loose skin in retracting or shrinking. It is common to have weight gain due to edema, serum that collects in the area, and the tumescent fluid that was injected. This will resolve over time. The more you wear the garment initially, the quicker this fluid resolves.Edema: a condition characterized by an excess of watery fluid collecting in the cavities or tissues of the body. The length of time that the garment should be worn varies depending on the amount of fat removed, the elastic nature of your skin, how much loose skin remains, and other factors. Your surgeon would give you the best advice, however this is the general routine for my patients. The first garment should be fitted for you in the office prior to surgery and applied in the operating room. Often it will become loose as the edema is mobilized, and then it will need to be replaced. Spanx is a reasonable compression garment if it gives enough support and is the right size. I have my patents bring them in so I can confirm that it fits well. Most important advice is to listen to your surgeon, as he or she knows how much fat was removed, the elasticity that remains in your skin, and amount of skin redundancy. I recommend that my patients wear their garments for a minimum of three weeks full time then for twelve hours at a time (day or night). If there is not a lot of redundant skin, this continues to a maximum of six weeks. To be effective, the garment needs to fit snugly—but not too tight as that can make it difficult to sleep or cause pressure problems (inspect your skin when it is exposed if you are uncomfortable). As the edema resolves it is common for patients to switch to a smaller garment that fits. A Spanx-type garment would work fine, rather than ordering one or paying more at your doctor’s office. Finally, it is likely that if small or moderate amounts of tat were removed a garment may not even make much of a difference in the long run though I am not aware of a double blind controlled specific study to prove this.

Thank you for submitting your question.  I recommend to my patients to use compression for 2 weeks, then switch to a contour garment such as SPANX.  Without a garment you will have prolonged swelling and a longer recovery but your final result will be the same.   Follow your Plastic Surgeons recommendations and discuss different garments that are more comfortable.  Best Wishes.