How soon can I go back to work after a tummy tuck? I'm a RN working on a medical admissions unit

Your surgeon would be able to provide this information to you. I generally advise that patients avoid any physically strenuous work for about 2 months (particularly if muscle repair was performed), although they may return to desk work after 2 weeks.

Thanks for your question. To help promote blood circulation,
you will be encouraged to get out of bed and take short walks. Most
patients find they are able to return to work and driving in 2 weeks and
exercise in 6 weeks.

It will somewhat depend on the surgeon and exactly what is done in terms of muscle tightening but generally it is safe to assume you will be walking slightly bent at the waist for about 2 weeks and no heavy lifting for 4-6 weeks after surgery. You'll likely be able to return to desk work in 1-2 weeks but depending on how much lifting of patients you do then you might need to be on modified duties for a little while. Best of luck!

Thank you for the question.  This really depends on the surgeon.  We have different opinions on the matter but usually, patients are not allowed to do strenuous activities and lifting until about 4-6 weeks from surgery.  This also depends on the level of the surgery (e.g. amount of fat taken out) and also one the patients healing rate since each person do heal at different rates.  Best to consult with your board-certified plastic surgeon and follow his/her post op protocol.  Best of luck. Dr. Michael Omidi.
An in-person exam with a board-certified plastic
surgeon is the best way to assess your needs and provide true medical advice.

Thank you for your question.Generally I advise my patients to plan for a two week recovery after Tummy Tuck. While you should be able to work at a computer and be mobile after 4-5 days you need to not be under any stress during your recovery.Recovery also depends on the type of Tummy Tuck. Recovery from a Full Tummy Tuck with Muscle Repair will take longer than recovery with a Mini.Plan two to three weeks. If you recover sooner that will be a plus for you.I recommend to ask this to your PS, he knows your medical history and he will give the best answer, good luck :)

Thanks for your question. I'd say that you'd need a minimum of 2 weeks completely off, and then flexibility with that 3rd week. You will have a lifting restriction until about week 4 (perhaps longer). You will likely have surgical drains in place for a week or two as well. Best wishes.

I find that most people can get back to work at 2-3 weeks. However, it needs to be doing something non-physical. Tightening of the tummy muscles as part of the abdominoplasty is only as strong as the sutures used to do it so, until the scarring is strong enough to support the sutures (around 6-8 weeks),  you need to take it a little easy.As long as you can do fairly non-physical tasks such as taking notes, observations, blood pressure etc.. then I would say 2-3 weeks. Don't expect to be lifting patients or heavy sets of notes etc... for 6-8 weeks though.Good luck

Dear suzanne44,

Thank you for your clinical post and
question. In general, individuals who
have had tummy tuck with muscle repair, belly button improvement and skin
removal with or without liposuction on the sides and flanks can return to work
after 2 weeks. This is simpler if your
job is sedentary and involves very little heavy lifting. If your job is not sedentary, quite active
with heavy lifting you may need to wait an additional 3-4 weeks to return to
full activities.

If your modified job description
forms filled out by yourself or your physician can help guide the post
transition to more strenuous work related activities. Most plastic surgeons
fall within this range of post-operative instructions and as long as your
nursing job with the admissions unit is fairly sedentary or at least does not
involve heavy lifting return to work in 2 weeks is reasonable.

I hope this information is of some
assistance and best of luck.

To find out more, please visit the
link below.

R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D.

Certified Plastic Surgeon

Yorkville, Toronto