Waist Measures Larger 1 Week Post Op- Normal?

The greatest swelling after most surgical procedures occurs at about 5-8 days, and after a tummy tuck, most of my patients experience a 10 pound weight gain at about this time.  Injury fluid goes out into your tissue which is known as the Third Space.  The best example of this is a swollen ankle after you sprain your ankle.  This Third Space fluid normally comes out of your tissue at about 6-9 days after surgery, but continues to be picked up by your lymphatic vessels and urinated out for up to 3 months after surgery. 

The short answer to your question is, yes, your swelling of 5 pounds and 3 inches at the waist is completely normal.  It will improve.

Thanks for your question.

You are only one week after surgery.

Typically, there is a some swelling after tummy tuck and liposuction.

You will most likely notice a great deal of change and reduction in the size of your waistline.

Please be patient and your skin will shrink and re drape.

Best Wishes.

Dr. Sajjadian

 

Hello,

A tummy tuck should not widen your waist even if liposuction or muscle tightening was not done.  It sounds like much of what you ar experiencing is the result of swelling after your tummy tuck.  This is normal in the early part of the healing process.  Make sure you wear your abdominal binder consistently and properly and it should all be fine.

All the best,

Dr Repta

You are still extremely early in your healing process so measurements like you are concerned about are unimportant at this point in time. Gaining weight after surgery is very common and most often is related to fluid infusion from surgery and fluid retention. These will resolve fairly quickly. You may have increased swelling from inflammation over the next several weeks which will also affect your measurements.

Be patient. Full maturation can take up to a year. Usually by 4 - 6 months you will have a better idea with regard to your contour. If you did have skillfully performed plication of your muscles, you should see a noticable improvement after several months. Of course, make sure that you also don't gain a significant amount of weight long term as this will adversely affect your results.

For a typical tummy tuck, the waist will not widen as the skin is drawn to the center of the abdomen and tailored. You may just be too early in your healing and things will settle down. It is correct that with extended tummy tuck, often after weight loss the tension to the side can pull down and widen the waist somewhat. At 119 pounds, this will not be you.
Best of luck, peterejohnsonmd.com