Lumps and Swelling After Tumescent Liposuction

                  Patients
undergoing tumescent liposuction of the abdomen will often develop swelling,
firmness, hardness and pain following this procedure.  During the procedure the liposuction cannula is passed
through the subcutaneous tissue. 
This causes disruption of the lymphatic channels and cellular injury
which results in these characteristic physical findings. 

                  These
findings can persist for several months following surgery.  In most cases improvement is seen
within 3 to 4 weeks following surgery. 
In other cases improvement may continue for up to 3 to 4 months
following the procedure.  Small
amounts of firmness may persist up to a year following surgery.

                  We
generally recommend the use of compression garments for about 3 to 4 weeks
following surgery.  We also recommend
low salt diets before and after surgery. 
Exercise is usually started early and we want
patients to ambulate as soon as possible following surgery.

                  Massage
is also helpful, it decreases firmness, hardness and swelling by mobilizing retained
fluid following liposuction.  All
of these steps minimize firmness and swelling and improve the patients
aesthetic result.

Thank you for you for your question. You are very early in your recovery from your liposuction surgery. Waviness and irregular areas are normal in the first few weeks after surgery. Hards areas imlprve with massge, extrernal ulytraspund and using yur garment.  Final results take 6-12 months. Discuss your concerns with your Plastic Surgeon

Most of the swelling will be gone in 2-3 weeks, but some firmness can last for a couple of months. You can assess your results at about the three or four month mark. You can try massaging the area with your surgeon's advice.

Swelling is common after lipo, and this takes weeks to resolve.  Lack of compression also prolongs the edema.  At the 6 week mark, things should be getting better. Thank you for your question and good luck with everything.

Swelling and the "lumpy-bumpy" after liposuction is quite common for 3-6 weeks before it improves. Give it some time. Some surgeons advocate the use of massage in various forms but this is not universally practiced.