Would it be safe to wear a waist trainer over or under my compression garment after getting liposuction?

I recommend following up with your Doctor about their protocol regarding compression and waist trainers. I have my patients wear customized compression for 3-6 weeks straight then overnight for 3-6 months after their procedure. For liposuction after care, I recommend adding hyperbaric oxygen and lymphatic massage along with your compression to help decrease swelling. To improve your final results, I also recommend adding vanquish for further fat removal, exilis/venus legacy for skin tightening, cellutone/z wave to make the skin smooth, remove scar tissue, and improve the skin’s appearance. Best, Dr. Emer

The PS who performed your liposuction is the best person to ask about using the waist trainer.  I prefer that my patients wear an adjustable compression garment for 4 to 6 weeks.Kenneth Hughes, MD, Board Certified Plastic SurgeonLos Angeles, CA

Thank you for your question.  It's best to follow your surgeons specific advice post-operatively as every surgeon will have his/her own preferences as to recovery for specific procedures.  I  have my liposuction patients wear a compression garment (faja) covering all treated 24/7 except to shower for 4 weeks post op.  This helps ontrol swelling as the compression on your tissues helps your body to reabsorb the edema fluid that accumulates in the tissues after any procedure. This can take quite some time to happen without help from the compression garments.  It also helps improve  contour.  Compression helps to keep the tissues adherent to the underlying structures while healing, this can help prevent the wrinkled skin appearance that can happen when the tissues heal in ways we don't want them to.

Dear AmericaF,every plastic surgeon has his own postoperative protocol which he recommends to his patients. I would suggest you to discuss this with your plastic surgeon.Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Waist trainers may be helpful in adding further compression to the mid-waist area but should only be used if your surgeon approves. Compression is a bit of a mysterious thing; we generally all advise using compressive garments for a period of several weeks to even 3 months or more after liposuction, but we are not sure which exact garments are best. In fact, some patients like garments that other patients dislike, and the garments can occasionally dig into certain areas or leave creases (usually temporary), so it is important that they fit well. Patients often need to change garments after a few weeks, as swelling comes down, in order to optimize fit and compression. Check with your surgeon about the waist trainer to make sure this is acceptable.