After Abdominoplasty: What to Expect When Recovering From a Tummy Tuck

Have you been striving for a flat and slim-looking abdomen with little to no results? Sometimes, even the strictest diet and most intense exercise routine aren’t enough to tone your tummy or eliminate stubborn pockets of fat.

Thankfully, a cosmetic procedure known as a tummy tuck — medically referred to as an abdominoplasty — can flatten your stomach by removing excess fat and skin while also tightening your abdominal walls. 

If you’ve chosen to undergo an abdominoplasty to help you get that perfectly taut tummy, our team led by board-certified cosmetic surgeon Martha Ayewah, DO, at Ayewah Aesthetics, wants you to know what happens during the procedure and how to optimize recovery.

What happens during a tummy tuck?

Tummy tucks are outpatient procedures, meaning you can go home that same day. However, you need to arrange transportation to and from the surgery. Dr. Ayewah administers general anesthesia to keep you comfortable and pain-free during the procedure, which makes you feel groggy from the sedation for a while afterward. 

After the anesthesia has set in, Dr. Ayewah makes an incision between your pubic area and belly button. She then pulls down the abdominal area to remove the excess skin and rearrange the tissue for a flatter appearance. Next, she repositions your belly button before stitching up the surgical site and applying bandages and compression materials.

How to ensure a smooth tummy tuck recovery

A few months before your tummy tuck, give yourself plenty of time off work and prepare for appropriate at-home care. Recovery time for tummy tuck surgery is about 4-8 weeks, but you need at least a week away from work and regular activities.

You wear bandages and a support garment to keep swelling down and encourage proper healing during this recovery period. You also likely experience some pain and bruising around your abdomen. We can walk you through what pain medications we offer to keep you comfortable during recovery.

At Ayewah Aesthetics, we offer post-operative care to speed up recovery and diminish discomfort in addition to at-home care. You can receive rejuvenating and healing nutrients via intravenous (IV) nutrient therapy, and we also provide lymphatic massages.

Lymphatic massages help drain excess fluid that builds up after a surgical procedure, such as a tummy tuck. Post-surgical swelling can be very uncomfortable and slows down the healing process. Massaging areas that don’t swell provides a place for all the congested pockets of fluid, effectively reducing swelling and thick bands of scar tissue.

To learn more about the tummy tuck surgical and recovery process, don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation with us. Call our office in the Midtown West Neighborhood of New York City, New York, or book online today.