Is a Tingling Sensation Normal After Lipo? 4 Weeks PO

Tingling sensation, itching, buring, electric shock, sharp pain can happen after surgery and they represent nerve healing.  During the surgery nerve fibres have been irritated or injured and as they are healing they are randomly firing.  These generation various sensations that can be interpreted by the brain in many different ways.  The discomfort tends to improve and resolve over time but sometimes medication is required to sooth very irritated or painful nerves.

Sincerely,

Martin Jugenburg, MD

Maybe I'm missing something in your posting but you did not have any surgery on your right arm, correct? I disagree with my expert posting colleagues as for a non surgery area having "tingling" after 1 month. Yes, in surgery areas I would be comfortable with that and just waiting. BUT I believe you should be seen by your PS or Primary to evaluate the arm issue. I'm concerned that other serious issue could be in play. Seek in person advise. 

Liposuction may cause some temporary numbness of regions treated. Often at 6-8 weeks and sooner, strange sensory sensations like tingling may develop as these nerves "wake up."

Any sensory alterations during the healing process, including tingling, is normal and part of the process. The body is reacting to the swelling. This should dissipate over time so be patient.

The tingling sensation that you are experiencing in your liposuctioned sites is entirely normal. It is a result of the nerves having been irritated, stretched and/or bruised from the procedure and are now regenerating/recouping. Most of this usually resolves within several months though some individuals can still experience changes at a year.

The situation is your arm would be unrelated to the liposuction elsewhere.

 

Thank you for the question.

The tingling sensation you are experiencing after liposuction is very likely normal "recovery” of the sensory nerves involved in the area of liposuction surgery. You will find that gradually over the course of many weeks to months the sensory changes will dissipate.  If the sensory changes were sent or are  associate with other symptoms you may want to visit with your plastic surgeon for in person examination.

Best wishes.

Right thigh and calf - yes; right arm - no.  It is normal to have any of a range of sensations in and around the areas that have been operated upon, particularly with lipo, and that includes the areas distal to (past or farther away from) the areas that had surgery.  So if you had your thighs done, then having tingling in your thigh and calf is to be expected.  The right arm, however, is a different issue.  I can't think of a reason why you would have numbness there without having had surgery, and particularly at 4 weeks.  Speak with your PS and, unless there's some info missing, contact your internist to discuss these symptoms.  I'm assuming that you're otherwise ok (ie, no fever, chills, sweats, other problems, etc).

I hope that this helps, and good luck,
Dr. E
 

It is not unusual to experience some tingling in areas which have been liposuctioned a month later.  This could explain the tingling you have felt in your thigh, but not the tingling which you have experienced in your arm.  The latter is most likely related to positioning during sleep or some other cause which could also explain the thigh sensation.