Liposuction is one of the more customizable procedures, and it may involve fat removal from one or more areas. Recovery in case of liposuction cosmetic surgery will vary from one patient to another depending on several factors. The surgeon will discuss about the recovery process during the initial consultation with the patient.
The patient should be prepared to follow the surgeon’s instructions for recovery in order to have the best outcomes. Recovery is as important as another stage in the liposuction procedure. Board certified plastic surgeons at ACPS provide liposuction to patients in Houston, Texas, TX, and surrounding locations.
Recovery Factors
How quickly a patient recovers from liposuction may depend on one or more of the following factors:
- The extent of surgery involved
- The size and location of the treated areas
- What type of anesthesia is used
- The surgical approach of the operating surgeon
- The technique used to performed liposuction
- Natural healing ability of the patient
Immediate Post-Op Phase
Following liposuction plastic surgery, a few patients may be required to stay overnight at the hospital. But most patients can return home the same day within a few hours after the surgery. The patient should have someone responsible to drive them back home after the procedure. Someone should preferably stay with the patient for the first one or two days for assistance.
Antibiotics to minimize infection risks and pain meds to keep the patient comfortable may be prescribed for the first three to five days after surgery. Anemic patients may have to take iron supplements for a few days during recovery. The patient should take care of the incision areas, particularly until the sutures are removed.
This means the patient should not be engaging in any high risk activities. This means if you have softball practice or dancing lessons, you need to inform your coach or team and so on that you will not be able to make it. Even walking your dog, depending on the size of dog you have, should be skipped. No pick-up basketball games or intense elliptical machine work as well for example. This is not the time to cut down the limb on that tree either.
First Week
In the first few days, the treated area will be wrapped in bandages or fitted with an elasticated support corset. This should be worn all the time to reduce swelling and bruising. In a few cases, the corset may have to be worn for several weeks. Bruising will usually start subsiding quickly from the second week, but in a few cases, it may be more severe and required longer time to disappear. Swelling will linger on for several weeks and go away gradually.
Immediately after the surgery, the patient is likely to experience numbness or altered sensation in the treated area.
This is usually temporary and will be eliminated on its own in about two months. Patients can usually return to their normal routine or go back to work in about one week. In case of more substantive fat removal from multiple areas, the downtime may extend up to two weeks. ACPS cosmetic surgeons receive patients from Houston, Texas, TX, and other communities and cities across the horizon.
For more information about The Aesthetic Center for Plastic Surgery(ACPS)physicians and the cosmetic surgery treatments and procedures they perform please click here or call us at 713.799.9999. We have offices in and around Houston, Texas.