Confused About Liposuction After Care

Just like in hand surgery, Liposuction aftercare is critical to a great result!Although my patients often use a number of different noninvasive techniques after liposuction, nothing is more important than the garment! You are correct to pay close attention to avoid marks, zippers etc. Sometimes a cotton T-shirt under the garment can help with this. Concerning hardness, yes, much of that is water. Stick to a low sodium diet and be patient, as the swelling comes down by 3 months so will the hardness. Sounds like you are headed to a very nice result.

Hi- thank you for your question. I have found that as far as liposuction aftercare goes, the simpler the better. I generally have my patients wear a compression garment for 48 hours- that’s it. They shower after 48 hours. In general, if surgery is on a Friday, they can return to work on Monday and get back to the gym on Wednesday. I do Not recommend lymphatic massage, as it can be uncomfortable and I’m not aware of data showing that it is helpful. If a patient feels strongly about it, I’m fine with it as does not cause harm. Hope this helps!

The goals of liposuction aftercare are to minimize trauma to the treated area, optimize blood perfusion, and limit swelling and bruising. The compression and massage treatments are definitely a must during your recovery. Raffy Karamanoukian Los Angeles

Your recovery is somewhat slower than average.  I think the telling sign is what you describe as a lot of bruising.   This most likely (in absence of any medical conditions that you might have) represents excess trauma during your surgery and/or sub-optimal application of post-operative garment.

Fast recovery after a liposuction surgery  required proper pre-operative planning by your surgeon, proper execution during your surgery, proper garment application and instructions, and to a lesser degree postoperative massage, hyperbaric, etc.  As  your case clearly illustrates that the use of lase/smart, etc. devices do not guarantee good outcome.  Make sure your surgeon not only has the latest equipment, but the knowledge, talent and experience to achieve the desired result.

Assuming your Smartlipo and traditional lipo was uncomplicated, it sounds like you are doing more than we would recommend in our practice. Most of our traditional and Smartlipo patients wear a garment for 3-4 weeks after surgery and that is pretty much it.
HBO, Dermawave, lymphatic drainage and any adjunctive treatments would be extremely rare in our practice. From time to time (5-10% of patients) we may recommend something like Endermologie or VelaShape to supplement or enhance a result, but most of the time, normal healing takes place without any adjuncts.
Sometimes rushing into adjunct treatments can increase swelling and delay healing, so make sure you have a conversation with your doctor about this possibility. If you are paying for all these treatments it also is adding a lot of cost to what should be a benign postop course.

Hello,
Post liposuction care other than a good diet, sun avoidance and a good compression garment is money poorly spent at least in my opinion. I am not sure if your doctor sold you on all that stuff, but it is probably not important. Skin tightness is not frequently achieved with liposuction. Either your skin is elastic enough with a good blood supply or it isn't. Massage can help swelling come down more quickly, but there is no good evidence that this changes the outcome of the operation. Hyperbaric oxygen is probably even less helpful.
If your doctor is not recommending this post-surgery care, get in with him or her and discuss what he or she advises. This advice is part of what you paid for with your surgery.

Alot of questions. In general, I tell my patients that they should wear a compression garment for 4-6 weeks.  If there are areas of firmness, then I tell them that they can do gentle massage over the area for lymphatic drainage.  Otherwise they have no restrictions.

Most plastic surgeons are going to tell you to wear a compression garment for several weeks after the procedure. All of this other stuff may help to some degree but it also seems excessive. What type of Hyperbaric Oxygen are you doing? Are you really going in an oxygen chamber under physican observation and being pressurized? There are many "pseudo" hyperbaric oxygen therapies sold by doctors who either don't know or don't care about the science of hyperbaric oxygen. Simply going in an oxygen tent for 15-30 minutes is not going to improve your outcome. True hyperbaric oxygen therapy requires a physician to be sitting there while you are treated for 2 hours, 5 days a week. Dermawave non-needle mesotherapy has little peer recognized scientific proof that plastic surgeons believe needs to be done after liposuction. I have a feeling that some non-plastic surgeon is making extra money selling you treatments for which there is little scientific evidence or proof that it works. Your doctor should be answering all of these questions and if he/she is not you need to find a doctor who can examine you and answer your questions/concerns.

It sounds like you are doing all of the right things in the post-operative period. As for Smartlipo, I usually tell my patients to wear their garments for at least 2 weeks and longer if possible. For traditional liposuction, the healing time is longer, and the garnments typically need to be worn longer. You will continue to heal and see improved results for up to a year so don't get discouraged.
Those supplemental treatments can help, and I have seen some good results with some of them, but they are optional. If you have specific concerns, it is always best to consult your own physician, however it sounds like you are on the right track. And remember, it has only been a month, and the results will continue to improve with time. If a touch up is needed, I usually tell my patients to wait at least 6 months, and we can reevaluate the situation then.

Hi.
As my colleagues say, it should be a great deal simpler. We don't even use compression garments for most liposuction patients.  Lymphatic drainage massage does help.