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Lifestyle Management
As you are recovering from your surgery, there are practical things that you can do during the first few months to prevent pain from starting and to reduce your pain if you have any.
Top 10 Items You Should Have at Home After Surgery
Pain Management
Often, tummy tuck procedures include injection of pain medications into the area around the sensory nerves, resulting in a nerve block. This pre-emptive measurehas been shown to reduce postoperative pain. However, if you experience postoperative pain, you may need treatment as you recover from your tummy tuck surgery. Options include:
Post-Operative Care
There are some routine thingsyou need to take care of as you healafter your surgery, including wearing a compression garment, wound care, and drain care. Paying careful attention to these tasks can help reduce or prevent pain.
How to Recover Faster After Surgery
A Word From Verywell
A tummy tuck is generally well tolerated. However, it is a surgical procedure, and there are some risks and side effects—including pain. If you are planning to have a tummy tuck, you should be prepared for one to two months of recovery, and you may experience pain throughout this time. In general, pain is mild to moderate after a tummy tuck. Rarely, pain or sensory abnormalities can persist for months or even years after the procedure. If your pain is severe or persistent, you should tell your healthcare provider.
Frequently Asked QuestionsIt varies from person to person. In general, the pain from a tummy tuck can be managed with over-the-counter medication, compression garments, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.Typically, the surgeon injects a nerve block of pain medication into the transverse abdomens plane during a tummy tuck. This helps to minimize post-surgical pain. Once the block wears off, you may need prescription pain medication for a few days after the procedure.Like most surgeries, it can take several weeks before you fully recover after a tummy tuck. How long recovery takes will depend on several factors, including your age, overall health, and the extent of the surgery—an extended tummy tuck will take longer to heal than a mini tuck.Provided there are no complications, it should take no longer than eight weeks for you to feel like your old self again.It depends on the type of work you do. People who have an office job can typically return to work after two weeks of recovery from a tummy tuck. However, if you have a more physical job, you may need at least six weeks before you can be cleared to return to work.You should avoid strenuous activity for at least six weeks after having a tummy tuck. This includes serious workouts. To speed healing, you should remain active and once you feel up to it can go for short walks that become progressively longer. However, you shouldn’t run or lift weights until your incision is fully healed and your surgeon clears you for exercise.Learn MoreResuming Exercise After a Tummy Tuck
Frequently Asked Questions
It varies from person to person. In general, the pain from a tummy tuck can be managed with over-the-counter medication, compression garments, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.Typically, the surgeon injects a nerve block of pain medication into the transverse abdomens plane during a tummy tuck. This helps to minimize post-surgical pain. Once the block wears off, you may need prescription pain medication for a few days after the procedure.
It varies from person to person. In general, the pain from a tummy tuck can be managed with over-the-counter medication, compression garments, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Typically, the surgeon injects a nerve block of pain medication into the transverse abdomens plane during a tummy tuck. This helps to minimize post-surgical pain. Once the block wears off, you may need prescription pain medication for a few days after the procedure.
Like most surgeries, it can take several weeks before you fully recover after a tummy tuck. How long recovery takes will depend on several factors, including your age, overall health, and the extent of the surgery—an extended tummy tuck will take longer to heal than a mini tuck.Provided there are no complications, it should take no longer than eight weeks for you to feel like your old self again.
Like most surgeries, it can take several weeks before you fully recover after a tummy tuck. How long recovery takes will depend on several factors, including your age, overall health, and the extent of the surgery—an extended tummy tuck will take longer to heal than a mini tuck.
Provided there are no complications, it should take no longer than eight weeks for you to feel like your old self again.
It depends on the type of work you do. People who have an office job can typically return to work after two weeks of recovery from a tummy tuck. However, if you have a more physical job, you may need at least six weeks before you can be cleared to return to work.
You should avoid strenuous activity for at least six weeks after having a tummy tuck. This includes serious workouts. To speed healing, you should remain active and once you feel up to it can go for short walks that become progressively longer. However, you shouldn’t run or lift weights until your incision is fully healed and your surgeon clears you for exercise.Learn MoreResuming Exercise After a Tummy Tuck
You should avoid strenuous activity for at least six weeks after having a tummy tuck. This includes serious workouts. To speed healing, you should remain active and once you feel up to it can go for short walks that become progressively longer. However, you shouldn’t run or lift weights until your incision is fully healed and your surgeon clears you for exercise.
Learn MoreResuming Exercise After a Tummy Tuck
SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Fiala T. Tranversus abdominis plane block duringabdominoplastyto improve postoperative patient comfort. Aesthet Surg J.2015 Jan;35(1):72-80.Presman B,Finnerup K,Andresen SR,Nikolajsen L,Finnerup NB.PersistentPainand Sensory Abnormalities afterAbdominoplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open.2015 Dec 9;3(11):e561. doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000000542. eCollection 2015 Nov.
Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Fiala T. Tranversus abdominis plane block duringabdominoplastyto improve postoperative patient comfort. Aesthet Surg J.2015 Jan;35(1):72-80.Presman B,Finnerup K,Andresen SR,Nikolajsen L,Finnerup NB.PersistentPainand Sensory Abnormalities afterAbdominoplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open.2015 Dec 9;3(11):e561. doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000000542. eCollection 2015 Nov.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Fiala T. Tranversus abdominis plane block duringabdominoplastyto improve postoperative patient comfort. Aesthet Surg J.2015 Jan;35(1):72-80.Presman B,Finnerup K,Andresen SR,Nikolajsen L,Finnerup NB.PersistentPainand Sensory Abnormalities afterAbdominoplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open.2015 Dec 9;3(11):e561. doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000000542. eCollection 2015 Nov.
Fiala T. Tranversus abdominis plane block duringabdominoplastyto improve postoperative patient comfort. Aesthet Surg J.2015 Jan;35(1):72-80.
Presman B,Finnerup K,Andresen SR,Nikolajsen L,Finnerup NB.PersistentPainand Sensory Abnormalities afterAbdominoplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open.2015 Dec 9;3(11):e561. doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000000542. eCollection 2015 Nov.
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