Tag Archives: abdominoplasty

General Category, Tummy Tuck

A Week-By-Week Look at Tummy Tuck Recovery

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August Blog - Tummy Tuck Recovery

You’ve chosen a surgeon and done your research. You may have even scheduled your surgery. But do you know what to expect after your tummy tuck? It’s one of the most common questions I hear from my tummy tuck patients in Montreal. Let’s break down the tummy tuck recovery week by week so you can make precise plans.

If you’re normally an active person, as many of my tummy tuck patients are, it can be difficult to settle down after surgery and give yourself the rest you need. However, listening to your body—and following your surgeon’s instructions—is imperative to achieving good results and minimizing the risk of complications.

Week 1

This is the primary recuperation period and the time when slowing down and taking it easy is most important. You can expect to spend much of your surgery day napping, resting, and taking occasional short walks around the house to maintain your mobility. As the days progress, you’ll find yourself moving about more and more. Movement is important to maintain blood flow and reduce the risk of certain complications.

During the first week, pain and discomfort tend to be at their most significant. However, these symptoms are manageable with prescribed medications and activity restrictions. Tightness in the abdomen, especially near the incision, is common. This symptom will fade with time. It’s important to restrict your activities to light movements around the house. If you are using opioid medicine, it is not safe to drive. You should also avoid bending, stretching, or lifting any items more than a few pounds.

Week 2

Patients will notice their physical discomfort beginning to fade quite a bit by the second week after surgery. However, residual swelling and tightness will still be present. Maintain the activity restrictions you were given during your first week. You may be able to take short walks around the neighborhood or run simple errands, especially if you are no longer using pain medication. Depending on the type of work you do, you may be able to return to the office.

Week 3

During this time, swelling and soreness will continue to dissipate. You should have a good sense of what your ultimate results will look like, as your abdomen will be closer adopting its permanent shape by week 3. By now, you may begin engaging in very light exercises. However, it is still important to refrain from strength training and any activity that requires you to lift or strain your core muscles.

Week 4 and Beyond

You’ve reached the home stretch of your tummy tuck recuperation. By the 4th week of your recovery, it is safe to return to mild exercise, but keep strain off of your abdomen until at least 8 weeks after surgery. Keep in mind that you may have lost some strength and stamina during your recuperation period. Try to slowly ease back into your normal workout routine, listening to your body along the way.

Do you think a tummy tuck is the right choice for you? Please contact my office to learn more about the results you can expect.

 

 

Tummy Tuck

6 Ways to Reduce Tummy Tuck Scarring

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Preparing for your tummy tuck surgery here in Montreal may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are in good health and a non-smoker, the procedure and recovery should be straightforward and completely manageable.

Reducing Scars After A Tummy Tuck

It will take a few weeks to feel comfortable again and even longer for your scars to subside. They will be red-coloured and thick for a couple of months and may take a full year to fade. Your scars will be present, but they should reduce down to a discreet size with time. Here are a few things you can do to speed up the process:

1. Use Vitamin E Oil and Cocoa Butter

Vitamin E oil and cocoa butter are both amazing products. They provide intense moisturization, which is helpful in reducing the appearance of scars. However, always check with your doctor before using any over-the-counter products on your surgical scars.

2. Apply Silicone Sheeting

Silicone sheeting is one of the best over-the-counter products to help reduce scars. The sheets can also help ease itching and pain. They can be purchased as patches, dressings, or strips, and some brands even sell silicone strips specifically for tummy tuck scars.

3. Wear Compression Garments

Compression garments are items of clothing that apply pressure to release incision tension and reduce swelling. You can use medical tape to secure compression garments. Consult with your surgeon as to what degree of pressure is best for your incisions.

4. Apply SPF

After your surgery, sunscreen will be your best friend. If you know you will be baring your midriff, you should apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Scars get irritated in direct sunlight and change colour. Without proper sun protection, your scars may even become darker, which is the opposite of what you want to happen post-surgery. You should always be diligent and cautious about sunscreen application but be especially so during the first year following your procedure.

5. Wear Loose Clothing

Prepare to wear loose clothing for the first few months following surgery. Tight fitting jeans or dresses may irritate your incisions and perpetuate scarring.

6. Consider Surgical Options for Tummy Tuck Scar Removal

After healing, if a prominent tummy tuck scar still exists, there are surgical solutions for scar removal. Surgical scar revision can be performed six months or more after surgery. It will reduce the scar’s appearance by shortening its length, so it works best for wide and long abdominoplasty scars.

Tummy Tuck

Tummy Tuck vs Liposuction: Which Do You Need?

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While both a tummy tuck and liposuction can be excellent body contouring tools, they are not interchangeable.

They will both help you achieve a smoother, more toned body – especially when used in conjunction with each other – but their uses differ somewhat. In the simplest terms, a liposuction treatment will only remove pockets of excess fat, while a tummy tuck can target excess skin, pockets of fat, and weakened, sagging muscles in order to create a much smoother, flatter stomach area.

Tummy Tuck VS Liposuction

Liposuction

This procedure can be used to remove stubborn fat from most areas of the body. It is best suited to healthy patients with firm, elastic skin. This is because liposuction cannot remove loose or sagging skin and removing fat from these areas may only worsen the appearance of loose, hanging skin. Because only a limited amount of fat can safely be removed at one time through liposuction, patients should be close to their ideal weight before their procedure.

The Procedure

In order to perform a liposuction procedure, your surgeon will make small incisions around the area before infusing the treatment area with a solution of saline and pain medication. This solution is designed to reduce bleeding and pain throughout the procedure. Finally, a small cannula is inserted to loosen the fat before it is suctioned out.

Tummy Tuck

Only used on the abdominal area, this surgical procedure combines fat removal with the removal of excess skin tissue as well as the restructuring and repair of muscles in the area. A common choice for mothers in the Montreal area, this procedure can help to repair muscles damaged through pregnancy and childbirth in order to achieve a much flatter and more toned stomach.

Well-suited to mothers and people who have experienced drastic weightloss, a tummy tuck is a major surgery that pulls the muscles into tighter alignment, trims excess skin, and removes excess fat from the area.

The Procedure

Depending on the desired results of the patient there are several different kinds of tummy tucks that can be performed. The main different between them is how much of the abdominal area they affect.

Mini-tummy tucks, for example, target a small section for improved recovery and healing times, while an extended tummy tuck includes not only the lower abdomen and side areas but also the section above and around the belly button. Because this is a more involved procedure, it will require greater recovery time than a less invasive procedure like liposuction, but it can be used to achieve more dramatic results.