After your tummy tuck procedure, there are a few practices you want to follow to ensure your best possible recovery. This guide will explain some of the best practices to care for your incisions, manage your pain and more.
Care For Your Incisions
During your abdominoplasty, one of the skilled Las Vegas plastic surgeons will make an incision that may reach all the way from one hip bone to the other. This just depends on the type of tummy tuck procedure you undergo. To properly care for that incision, you want to follow these suggestions:
- Wait to remove your dressings over your incisions for about 24 hours. Then, shower. After a shower, blot your incisions (still covered with the steri-strips) dry with a clean towel. If your plastic surgeon provides different instructions, follow those instead.
- Keep your incision covered with clean dressings for about one week after your procedure.
- Don’t remove your steri-strips. They protect your incisions from dirt and infection. Eventually, they will fall off on their own.
- As a general rule, avoid still water (like baths and pools) for about two weeks after your procedure.
- If you were given a compression garment, wear it all times unless you are showering. Your surgeon will let you know when it is safe to remove the garment for good.
Manage Pain
Following any plastic surgery procedure, patients often experience some sort of pain. Manage your pain after your abdominoplasty with these tips:
- For the first 48 hours, you are likely to experience the most pain. Take the pain medications prescribed by one of the Las Vegas plastic surgeons as instructed for the best results. It may be a good idea to take the medications with foods like crackers or soups to avoid feeling nauseous.
- Avoid over the counter pain medications for at least two weeks following your procedure to prevent excess drainage and bruising.
- The compression garment will relieve some of the pain because it offers support to the abdomen which has been weakened by surgery. Just remember not to make it too tight; you can accidentally reduce blood flow and inhibit healing.
Return To Activities
You will be limited in what activities you can participate in for some time after your plastic surgery Las Vegas procedure. These suggestions will give you a general idea of when it is safe to resume your normal daily behaviors. Of course, you want to follow the tips:
- Don’t lift, push or pull anything that weighs more than five pounds for about six weeks. You don’t want to apply too much pressure and stress to your incisions that could complicate their healing.
- Don’t drive until you are totally pain-free without the assistance of pain medications.
- Check with your doctor about the best time to return to work after your procedure.
- You can take assisted showers after 24 hours.
- Don’t sleep on your stomach until all the pain has gone away. Until then, sleep in an assisted position with two or three pillows behind your head and two under your knees. This will also make it easier for you to get up once you wake.
Now that you are prepared for life after your abdominoplasty, schedule a consultation with the professionals at Reynolds Plastic Surgery. For more information about these experienced Las Vegas plastic surgeons, contact 702.410.9800.