What to Expect when Recovering from Liposuction

Sometimes, diet and exercise only can do so much to improve your appearance. If you are looking to reduce fat and shed inches from your waistline, hips, thighs, buttocks, upper arms or neck, and are within 10 percent of your goal weight, liposuction in NYC could be right for you. Nearly a quarter million liposuction procedures were conducted in 2017 according to data released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons; only breast augmentations were performed more often. If you are considering liposuction, you need to know what to expect after the procedure. Preminger Plastic Surgery wants to help. Read on to educate yourself about the liposuction recovery process.

What to expect

Some temporary swelling, bruising, and pain is expected following liposuction. While you should be able to return to work within 5-7 days, it is usually safe to resume light exercise after about 2 weeks. However, strenuous activity or exercise should be restricted until after 6 weeks. Most of the swelling will fade within 6-12 weeks. By then, you should be able to identify a significant improvement in the treated area.

Remember, though, that every person is different and has his or her own unique healing process. Swelling may appear to lessen one day, only to seem more pronounced the next as your body adapts to its new, more shapely contours. These changes occur because of the normal motions of your body during the day. Unless you are trying to resume a vigorous exercise routine too soon, you can rest easy that swelling is common after liposuction.

Bruising will subside rather soon, and taking over-the-counter pain medication usually is enough to control any pain that you may experience.

Make sure you have the proper support

As in, your supportive compression garment. Preminger Plastic Surgery provides each liposuction patient with a compression garment. Make sure you wear this! The compression garment provides support for the incisions, as well as any sutures, drains, and underlying tissue. Wearing your compression garment according to doctor’s orders also helps to aid the healing process and minimize swelling.

Maintain realistic expectations

If you have decided to undergo liposuction, you probably are going to be anxious about seeing your results. You want to know how you will look once the procedure is over and the swelling has subsided. We hate to break it to you, but there is no way to know with certainty how you will look. It depends on your own healing process, which you can help by following the instructions of your Manhattan plastic surgeon. Also, your liposuction results can be permanent as long as you continue a lifestyle of healthy eating and maintain regular exercise.

Prior to any liposuction procedure at Preminger Plastic Surgery, Dr. B. Aviva Preminger will sit down with you for a consultation. During this meeting, she will review your medical history and any pre-existing conditions that may complicate liposuction. She also will outline what you can expect during the recovery time, and make sure that you keep realistic expectations.

Liposuction in Manhattan

Are you ready to take the next step in learning about liposuction and how you could benefit from it? Schedule your discretionary consultation with Dr. Preminger by calling (212) 706-1900.

Preminger Plastic Surgery is proud to serve patients on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and throughout New York City.