Liposuction Post Operative Care

After your procedure, be prepared for varying amounts of blood-tinged fluid to drain from the incision sites during the first 2 to 7 days. The amount varies from patient to patient and the areas treated. In general, the more drainage there is, the less bruising and swelling there will be. Even though the fluid is red, it is only about 1% blood (with the remainder being local anesthetic and tissue fluid). Change the maxi-pads over the entry sites daily or as needed.

• Do not apply ice packs or a heating pad to the treated areas for 2 weeks.
• Do not apply hydrogen peroxide, Vaseline, or plastic band-aids to the entry sites.
• Do not get in a bath, Jacuzzi, swimming pool, or ocean for 7 days (it is ok to shower.)

1. If possible, please have someone stay with you the day of your procedure. One in ten patients faint following the procedure or experience low blood pressure and dizziness. If this happens to you, stop taking the prescription pain medication or muscle relaxants and switch to Tylenol or Motrin.
2. You may shower the day AFTER your procedure (but no baths for 7 days). Do not scrub the incision sites or skin in the treated area. You can use soap and shampoo, but cleanse yourself gently.
3. The garment is NOT optional. Other than showering or laundry, the garment should be worn for 24 hours a day for the first 7 days. After 7 days, the garment is then optional. If you feel better with the garment on, then wear it as long as you want. Some patients wear the garment for up to two months. If it is uncomfortable you can use support hose, bicycle pants, corsets or exercise tights as substitutes after the first 5 days.
4. Launder your garment AFTER you stop leaking fluid. If you are still leaking fluid, don't bother washing your garment yet.
5. Post operative medication is in your take home bag.
• Antibiotics: please take the antibiotics as directed beginning the day of your procedure.
• Pain medications: take as needed. Some people will need to take them every few hours while others will need them only once a day. You can take two at a time, or you can take none if you feel fine. If you experience nausea or vomiting after taking the medication, discontinue it. Try to take the pain medication with food and if symptoms persist, contact our office.
• Muscle relaxants: in rare cases they can cause a very low pulse rate or low blood pressure. Discontinue the use of muscle relaxants if this happens to you.
6. Avoid sunning until the bruising has fades. Wear sun block on the incision sites for 12 months.
7. Pushing fluid out of any open incisions can aid in quick healing and recovery, but is not required.
8. If you find some white "strings" sticking out of the incision sites, don't worry- these are just normal strands of connective tissue. Cut them off with clean scissors.
9. Meals are not restricted and you may eat whatever you wish. Make sure you stay hydrated and no not mix excess alcohol with pain medications or muscle relaxants. Use common sense when driving after taking medications.
10. Activity is not restricted, but you should avoid strenuous activity the day of your procedure. You can resume any normal physical or sexual activity the following day. If you experience more than mild swelling or discomfort, you may be overdoing it, but you will not affect the results of your surgery. For almost all patients, moderate exercise like walking will make you feel better and will decrease swelling.
11. Leave incision sites alone and they will heal normally with time. Do not put anything on the incisions. Do not pick at your scabs. You can use lotion after 2 weeks and scar cream after 1 month (optional). If an incision crusts over and looks yellowish, it is not an infection. Some incisions heal more quickly than others and it is not uncommon for one incision to continue to leak after the others have closed. Rarely, some incisions will leak a yellowish liquid, which is liquefied fat.
12. There are no lotions, potions, creams, pills, exercises, or massages that will make you heal faster or get a better final result. We promise that if there was some magical recipe that would make you heal faster, we would tell you. The only magic ingredient is time. Your body is an amazing machine and it will heal just fine on its own.
13. Remember that the goal is significant improvement, not perfection. Liposculpture isn't going to give you a whole new body- it is only going to change the body you already had before the procedure. It takes time to heal and unless you have a time machine, you will just have to wait for the healing to finish. Final results take 6 months.
14. If you feel that you're having a medical emergency, call 911. Our office does not provide emergency care.