2 Steps to Remedy Post Tummy Tuck Swelling

Any surgical procedure, whether cosmetic or not, is viewed as a trauma by your body. As such, you should expect to experience some swelling following your cosmetic surgery as part of the body’s natural reaction to the tummy tuck surgery as it begins the healing process. To minimize this swelling following your abdominoplasty, I recommend a two-step approach for patients comprised of a compression garment and a series of peri-operative touch therapy.

Compression Garment From Minute One
Directly after your tummy tuck surgery, our surgery center nurses assist you in putting on the compression garment. This garment is designed to aid circulation benefiting the healing process while minimizing swelling. I recommend tummy tuck patients wear a post surgical compression garment for the first two weeks after surgery, then I generally suggest transitioning to a softer, more flexible support garment, such as Spanx, for the next few weeks.

Plus Peri-Operative Massage
But equally, if not more important than the garment, is the implementation of peri-operative massage therapy treatments. The series of Peri-Operative therapy treatments starts with light touch massage that stimulate the lymphatic drainage ridding the body of excess fluid that coincides with swelling. Then the treatments later progresses to a more vigorous kneading of the tissues as you heal from the tummy tuck procedure. Getting the tissue and lymphatic fluids moving after surgery significantly reduces this swelling, as well as preventing stiffness in the tissues that may impact the final results. To learn more about

I recommend a minimum of three treatments within two weeks after surgery for an abdominoplasty with the first peri-operative treatment taking place the day after your tummy tuck surgery and the subsequent appointments at one week and two weeks out.

I began incorporating peri-operative therapy into my Denver based cosmetic surgery practice several years ago and have found that patients who receive treatments recover faster and with less discomfort. To learn more about peri-operative therapy, please watch the video below.