Swelling Has Increased After Stopping Compression and Resuming Exercise. What to Do?

It’s not unusual for patients who have undergone
abdominoplasty and liposuction to experience discomfort and swelling when they
resume strenuous physical activity.These
procedures have a significant impact on the abdominal wall soft tissue.In many cases, surgical incisions and passage
of the liposuction cannula have resulted in damage to blood supply and
lymphatic channels.In addition,
patients are in the middle of the wound healing process and its associated
inflammatory changes.When
patients resume strenuous activity, they maximally stress the lymphatic
drainage of the area and in some cases exceed its capacity to adequately remove
fluid.This is made worse by the absence
of a compression garment.This can lead
to the swelling that you describe.When
this situation arises, it’s important to be patient.This is a normal phenomena that occurs with
almost every patient who undergoes these procedures.It’s important to go slow at first and listen
to your body.It might be helpful to
continue using your compression garment and start a low salt diet.In some cases, massage is helpful as well.If the
problem fails to resolve, consultation with your plastic surgeon is
appropriate.Under these circumstances,
it may be appropriate to obtain a CT scan to rule out an abdominal wall
seroma.In the vast majority of patients
these studies are negative and patients continue to improve with time.

Don't worry about this too much. It's common for swelling to reappear after you've started exercising again and when you've stopped wearing your garment. This will go away with time, although may reappear again the next time you exercise. However, it will disappear as you progress in your recovery, which could take a few more months.

Hello! Thank you for your question!. The tummy tuck procedure is an
excellent method for contouring of your abdomen, often removing the
excess skin as well as tightening the abdominal wall. After nearly all
surgical procedures, a potential space is created from where the
surgical procedure/dissection was performed. This is especially true
for the tummy tuck, in where the abdominal flap is raised off of the
abdominal wall and then redraped atop the area to contour the abdomen.
The procedure alone promotes swelling and inflammation, which typically
lasts for 6-12 weeks. This may even last longer if liposuction has been
performed in addition. During this time, a few things may be done to
allow adherence of the abdominal skin/soft tissue to readhere to the
abdominal wall and close that space. Many surgeons use drains to
evacuate the expected serous fluid from building up. Stagnant fluid as
such may be a nidus for infection as well as does not allow the tissue
to adhere back to its normal anatomic position. Drains usually are
removed once output is <30cc/day - usually removed within 3-4 weeks
on average, sometimes longer. When this occurs, a seroma may develop -
which may require aspiration or surgical evacuation to rid this in order
to optimize your result. This is not an uncommon reason for
persistent swelling and/or bulging in a certain area of your belly. Of
course, thwarting the development of a pseudobursa, or seroma capsule,
is always best, to provide the best result as well as avoid any future
procedures for this. This may be a troubling consequence and often
compromises your overall result. Thus avoiding this complication, in
whatever manner, is the objective. "Drainless" tummy tucks are becoming
more popular - basically, the overlying tissue is physically sutured to
the abdominal wall to close the potential space. In addition, most
surgeons typically restrict vigorous activity/strenuous exercise as well
as lifting restrictions of usually <20#, especially the core, for
6-8 weeks to allow healing to continue. Most also often recommend an
abdominal compression-type binder or garment, which will serve to
provide
compression as well as assist to decrease swelling and eliminate the
dead-space of the area for at least 6 weeks as well. It may be worthwhile for you to continue some compression, especially during activitiies.  After the initial
binder, many patients like the Spanx garments. Most patients are
able to return to most activities within a couple of weeks, provided
they adhere to the restrictions. Overall, this is a procedure
with a high satisfaction rate. Discuss the procedure and postoperative
instructions/restrictions with your surgeon, as these will vary among
surgeons. Hope that this helps! Best wishes!