Recovery from a tummy tuck surgery will take some time and, occasionally, it will not be pleasant. An abdominoplasty, especially a full abdominoplasty, is serious surgery. One thing you learn during the recovery is just how often you use your abdominal muscles on any given day!
The evening after your abdominoplasty surgery, you may be groggy from the anesthetic and/or oral medications. You actually probably won’t remember much of the first day or two. You should take it easy.
Tips on Recovery from Tummy Tuck Surgery
When you wake up after tummy tuck surgery, your abdomen may be very swollen and it may be throbbing. Don’t wait for pain to be unbearable before you take your pain medication. Take your pain medication on time because that stops the pain before it gets too bad. You will actually use less pain medication if you take it on time than if you wait for the pain to become severe. And pain interferes with healing. There is absolutely no reason to be tough and suffer through the pain.
As the days go on the swelling and pain will dissipate. You may have bruising, but this will go away as well. Make a mental note of this or you may be fall into a depression. Bruising and swelling are normal and only to be expected after most surgeries.
When you leave the hospital or surgical facility, you should receive a list of postoperative instructions and a general advice on the recovery from plastic surgery. This should tell you how often to change the dressings, whether you can shower or take a sponge bath, and what restrictions you have on your movement or activity. The list should also give you things to watch out for, such as an elevated temperature or bleeding from the incision and information on how to contact the surgeon.
The skin on your abdomen may be numb. This is normal. Abdominoplasty involves loosening the skin from its previous attachments and redraping it. That action, along with the incisions, means that some nerves were cut. Sensation will usually come back gradually over the course of several months. Sometimes, the first thing you will feel in areas that were numb is itchiness or tingling. There is the possibility that sensation in the skin will not come back completely.