I just had a Tummy tuck on April 24 2015. Can I take tramadol for pain and what is the best muscle relaxer to take?

There are numerous options available for pain relief after tummy tuck which I'm sure your plastic surgeon can recommend to you. Best wishes,Dr.Bruno

Thank you for the question. Good pain control after tummy tuck is very important for many reasons. Besides the important concern of patient comfort, good pain control allows for better/easier deep breathing exercises and ambulation. These measures may lead to decreased incidences of pulmonary complications and/or thromboembolic phenomenon.

These days plastic surgeons have many options when it comes to pain control after tummy tuck surgery. The use of narcotic medication, muscle relaxants, non-narcotics, pain control pumps, and long-lasting local anesthetics have made the postoperative experience much better than in the past. The specific medications used will vary from one practice to another.

In our practice, all patients undergoing, tummy tuck surgery receive a postoperative pain control pump. I have yet to have a patient complain of the "hassle" factor. In my opinion, there is no demonstrable difference between the use of local anesthesia provided through a pain pump versus long lasting injectable anesthetics. There are certainly no objective studies that demonstrate the superiority of one over the other. Best wishes.

You can take tramadol for pain however, it is usually not adequate. You should talk to your Board Certified Plastic Surgeon about his/her preference. Usually, a low dose narcotic is prescribed. A muscle relaxant also helps in this recovery and there are a variety of medications on the market. You should discuss this with your surgeon. #tummytuck #recovery #narcotics #healingaftertummytuck