A tummy tuck is a very popular and effective procedure to recount for the abdomen and torso. Patients that receive the surgery should expect a significant recovery process. If you have only had your tummy tuck four weeks ago, you are still very early in the recovery process. A significant amount of swelling is normal at this stage. In our practice, all of our tummy tuck patients received two different garments.
We encourage them to use their first garment for the first two weeks after surgery and then be placed into a second, more compressive garment that they should wear for the next 3 to 4 months. This tighter garment will help them with the swelling, make a more comfortable, and provide support. Discuss with your doctor if it is possible to obtain a compression garment that can help you with your symptoms.
Tummy tuck post op swelling is possible and may represent a seroma or fluid collection. Speak to your surgeon to assess the degree of abdominal flap fat, residual edema, and swelling. Swelling from your tummy tuck will last about 4-5 months, on average. This time might be even more with lipo at the same time.
If surgery is done gently, and drains are used to prevent fluid accumulation, there really shouldn’t be much swelling at any time. You can usually see a big improvement the next day. Swelling is just microscopic collections of liquid in the tissues after surgery, which the body rapidly reabsorbs.
If you are asking about swelling at 3 weeks, it suggests you are not happy with the contour. If that’s true, see your surgeon right away. Sometimes there are things (like a seroma) which can be corrected.
A tummy tuck will often have swelling for a while after surgery. The majority will go away in about 3-4 weeks, but there will be residual swelling for months.
Nothing replaces the value of an in person exam as swelling can have many causes. Certainly, there is no reason to lose sleep over swelling at 4 weeks. Give your surgeon a call or go see him or her. There can be great value in just hearing from your surgical team that what you are going through is normal.
At four weeks post abdominoplasty your swelling should be starting to subside. It generally takes 3 to 6 months for it to completely resolve. There is no specific time schedule for each individual. Gentle massage and time is about all you can do at this point.
Although it can be frustrating, swelling after a tummy tuck can take several weeks, or sometimes even a few months, to subside fully. Try not to get discouraged, and just give your body time to heal. A tummy tuck is a major surgery. Wearing your compression garment will assist with lymphatic drainage and keep the healing tissues in place, making you more comfortable.
If you have concerns that your swelling is the result of built up fluid (seroma), then definitely contact your surgeon for an examination.
During the early post operative period for a tummy tuck, probably the most common cause besides the recent operation is fluid accumulation. This happens most often after the drains have been removed and the body doesn’t absorb the remaining fluid.
This collection is called a seroma and can cause the appearance of swelling more than expected early after surgery. The patient would need to be evaluated by the surgeon to assess if fluid needs to be removed. Later post operatively the continued swelling resolves of the course of a year or so.
The wound healing process following abdominoplasty lasts for over a year. Most of the swelling resolves in six to eight weeks, but small amounts of swelling may persist for up to a year. The procedure inevitably interrupts the abdominal lymphatic drainage, and this takes time to re-establish itself. Patients can minimize swelling with compression garments, massage, and limitations on activity level.
It’s important to remember that swelling is a normal part of wound healing, and should resolve with time.
Significant swelling four weeks following abdominoplasty should be evaluated by your plastic surgeon. In the vast majority of cases, this swelling is probably normal, but in a small percentage of patients, it might represent a problem. Seroma formation, low grade infection, and separation of the muscle closure might be possible explanations for this swelling. In some cases, a CT scan may be necessary to resolve this issue. If you have concerns about persistent swelling, make sure you discuss the issue with your plastic surgeon.
First off I would be very patient with your result. It is not uncommon to require at least 3-4 months to see your final result. Most of the swelling after 4 weeks is likely near the lower abdomen and suprapubic region. Continue to wear a compression garment if you have one. You are still very early in your recovery and Im sure it will improve.
It is not uncommon to still have swelling 4 weeks post surgery. Swelling can last a few months after a tummy tuck. Give it some time. If you are not happy after a few months speak to your surgeon and see if there is something that can be done to achieve your desired results.
Swelling is very common after a tummy tuck. If liposuction was performed as well, this can extend the swelling period. At 4 weeks, your swelling should be improving, however it is not uncommon for this to take a few months before it is resolved. Some patients confuse swelling with intraabdominal weight. If you plastic surgeon told you that you carry significant weight inside your abdomen, this does not go away with a tummy tuck.
Be sure to ask why he could not make you “flat” and that will likely ease your concerns.
4 weeks is still early after a tummy tuck and swelling will not fully resolve until several months (not weeks) after your surgery. You stated that your surgeon said he could not make you super flat which is somewhat odd. An abdominoplasty is a strong procedure and most people really do end up super flat.
Good candidates for any procedure such as this are not obese so if you were truly still overweight before the procedure you may not be getting the result you had hoped for.
This is something to discuss with your doctor (and should have been discussed preop so that you would have appropriate expectations!) You should have been shown pictures of people similar to you before and after surgery not only ideal candidates.