What is swelling after liposuction, is it just water weight?

Hello and thank you for your question.Liposuction causes an injury to the treated area. The swelling/ inflammation will subside with time.Drink plenty of fluids to help it along. It may take up to six months to see results. Be patient and continue to follow all your post op instructions. Contact your surgeon with any concerns. Best of luck!

Hello and thank you for your question.
Any liposuction procedure generates inflammation due to local trauma. It takes approximately 6 months for the tissue to completely retract and heal. Diuretics are not indicated. You could try therapeutic massage. Some practices use Smooth Shapes laser post Smartlipo. Consult your physician before starting any therapeutic massage.
Wearing a compression garment helps with the edema resorbtion, minimizes the discomfort and speeds up recovery.

Good luck,

Oxana Popescu MD

 

Erica Congratulations on your recent surgery! The swelling one encounters after liposuction is secondary to the actual trauma from the surgery. The operation requires multiple passes of the liposuction cannula below the skin to suck out the fat. Your body reacts to this  by increasing blood supply to the area which is part of the normal healing mechanism of the body. This causes swelling. It is not the same thing as swelling after eating too much salt. Ask your board-certified plastic surgeon to further explain if needed. Good luck.

With any procedure, the body treats it like an injury with reactive swelling/inflammatory response. Allowing the body to heal and not aggravate the area is the main part of recovery. The fluids are absorbed through your lymphatics and then excreted through your kidneys. As a result, drinking lots of fluids helps. What you can do to help: drink lots of fluids, wear your compression garment, and abide by activity restrictions.

it is part of the normal healing process. It is not fluid that you can extract with a needle and syringe. you definitely do not want to take any diuretics. I think being reasonably active helps speed it up but largely it takes time. I stress to my patients that you will continue to improve for 6 months after Smartlipo so you need to be patient to see the final result.i also stress that it is a partnership and that i can decrease the fat in the treated areas. However, they will enhance the final result if they make better food choices. see my website for blogs on intermittent fasting, low carbs and ketone supplements for further ideas on this topic.see a board certified plastic surgeon.david berman md

Hi and welcome
to our forum!
Congratulations
on your recent procedure...The procedure of liposuction is an
"insult" to the soft tissues, resulting in swelling which will
initially totally obscure the operative result. Swelling is composed of tissue fluid, and is part of the inflammatory response to any trauma.  The
purpose of a compression garment is to prevent bleeding and to control
swelling. We usually recommend its use for the first 4-6 weeks after the
procedure. 60-80%
of the swelling should subside within the first 6 weeks, with the remainder
slowly subsiding over 6-12 months. 
The inflammatory swelling will not respond to diuretics. Some physicians utilize ultrasonic and radiofrequency treatments as well as lymphatic massage to hasten resolution of swelling. 
Continue
followup care with your plastic surgeon...