Is tramodal 50mg a safe and effective alternative to treat pain post op a full tummy tuck?

Dear reyngrey,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. I use long-lasting local anesthetic in order to prevent pain during the first few postoperative days. Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

There are many medication alternatives to manage pain after a tummy tuck. Narcotic based pain medication is typically only needed for the first few days to a week. Some don't need it at all. Speak with your surgeon about your preference for medications. Together you can determine what is best for you.

Tramadol is one common medication that is useful. There are many options. Even non-steroidals have much more effect than most patients realize. Best to discuss your concerns with your surgeon so you can agree on the plan BEFORE surgery.

It certainly can be, but I would suggest using 100mg and combining it with Tylenol. 
There are also some other pain protocols were you can take a Cox-2 inhibitor pre-operatively, IV Tylenol, addition of some benzodiazepines, anti-inflammatories, Toradol, use of local, and regional pain blocks with local anesthetics. There are a LOT of options. 
Sit down and discuss it with your surgeon and come up with a plan and also come up with what would be a back up plan in case Plan A is not as effective as you hoped. We all have different pain receptors and rates of how we break down medications etc. There are also huge difference in effectiveness between how patients respond to drugs.
Also don't completely count out narcotics, because there can also be a place for an opioid with the other medications too, but with limited use. Key to pain control is stagger medications so you always have something on board so to speak.
With any of these techniques remember to eat a TON of fibre--60 g every day for several days prior to your surgery to help with post-operative constipation and afterwards. Raspberries are very high in fiber offering 8g per 1 cup!

Tramadol is definitely safe for use in patients to choose not to use narcotic analgesia.  By saying you're having a full abdominoplasty,  I anticipate you're having your muscle tightened which is the painful part of this operation.  One of the options is called a TAPP block which is a local anesthetic block to the  anterior abdominal wall musculature done under ultrasound guidance.  Once this is placed and especially if it is done with a medicine called Exparel, the tummy wall is numb for 3 days postsurgically when the greatest  pain is reported.  Some surgeons have ultrasound capability but most anesthesiologists can do this as well.  When I put these in my patients they typically don't require any narcotic use.  The medicine is expensive, but worth it.  If the anesthesiologist is doing it, they usually do it before the surgery, and will usually charge a fee for the procedure as well as the medicine.  I put in my own TAPP blocks during the operation with ultrasound guidance, and only charge for the medicine, but not placing it.  

Although I cannot  provide you with specific advice online, I can tell you that there are alternatives to Percocet when it comes to oral pain control, after tummy tuck surgery. Discuss your concerns/preferences directly with your plastic surgeon who knows your situation best (information such as medical history, medication interactions, allergies…will be important).Best wishes for an outcome that you will be very pleased with.

Thank you for your question. Every plastic surgeon has different protocols to treat their post op patients. I recommend you talk with your PS for these meds. Tramadol is one of the alternative used in post op pain control if they can not tolerate narcotics