Tummy Tuck Post Op - How Long Should I Stay in Town if the Drive is 5 Hours from my Home?

Hi and thank you for your question. This is really something to properly discuss with your own surgeon.the risks of blood clot or DVT in the legs with early travel can be reduced by a number of measures such as mobilising well, wearing supprt stockings for at least a week post surgery and even taking an aspirin! Speak to your own PS.

You should stay locally for one or two days. See how you feel after the first day and seek your surgeon's advice. When you do drive home, stop a few times, get out of the car and walk around so you don't develop a leg clot. That is really important.

Hello,

Thank you for the question.  There is no wrong or right answer.  Traveling early on after a tummy tuck will, in addition to being painful, predispose you to blood clots in your legs.  If you could stay at least 3 days in a hotel or similar near your plastic surgeon I would imagine that would be ideal.  A tummy tuck is a big surgery and you will want to invest in the proper recovery for comfort and safety in the days and weeks following surgery.

All the best,

Dr. Remus Repta

Hi Konner. That sounds like too much. Try to find a hotel where you are hsvin the TT and leave after the drains are removed which is usually one week.

Since you are driving and not flying, I think a week would be fine as long as you get out of the car every hour or so and take a short walk. The concern with a long trip shortly after the surgery is blood clots in the legs. You may still have a drain in at that time, although that is unlikely, so you would need to talk to your surgeon about that.