What Can I Do to Get Rid of Swelling After Tummy Tuck Surgery?

Thank you for the question.

As always, it is best to be seen in person ( by your plastic surgeon) for precise diagnosis and treatment.

Abdominal wall "swelling" after tummy tuck may be related to:
1. Swelling in the soft tissues.  This may take several months to resolve and may worsen with increased activity  or at the end of the day.   Patience  is required to allow for resolution of the swelling. The swelling occurs because of the interruption of venous and lymphatic channels that occurs during the tummy tuck operation.
2. Fluid accumulation in the space between the skin and the abdominal wall muscle.  this may consist of blood ( hematoma)  or serum (seroma).  This fluid accumulation can generally be diagnosed by physical examination ( occasionally ultrasound  may be helpful).  Treatment consists of aspiration;  several episodes of aspiration may be necessary. 
3. Separation of the abdominal wall muscle repair may lead to a swelling/bulge appearance. This may be diagnosed on physical examination  with your surgeon examining you in different bodily positions. One of the steps of a tummy tuck procedure involves reapproximation (plication)  of the rectus muscles.  These muscles have spread apart during pregnancy and/or weight gain. Bringing them together again in the midline helps to “tighten” the abdominal wall as well as to narrow the waistline.
4. Residual adipose tissue may be confused for swelling. Again this is most easily diagnosed by physical examination. Additional liposuction surgery maybe necessary to improve the results of surgery.
Generally, it takes many months for swelling to resolve after tummy tuck surgery and it may take up to one year  (or greater)  a complete skin redraping  to occur.
I hope this helps.

Depending on the extent of the procedure, swelling can last up to 6-12 months. However most of the swelling generally subsides by 2-3 months. I have found a snug (not tight) abdominal binder and in some cases lymphatic massage can help speed up the swelling recovery process as well.

A tummy tuck is a major operation and selling does take time to go down. A good compression garment is helpful. I advice first stage garment which is usually a velcro type for first 6 weeks and followed by a second stage garment which is much softer and comfortable to wear. this should be worn for upto 20 hours a day for 4-6 months to get good results. In some patients swelling takes much longer to go down and in such cases few sessions of lymphatic massage helps with the swelling .