4 Things You Need To Know About The Healing Process After A Tummy Tuck

If you are considering getting a tummy tuck, you need to make sure that you fully understand the healing process before you undergo the procedure. Here are four things that you need to know. 

#1 Have Extra Assistance Lined Up For The Days After Your Surgery

In the first few days following your surgery, you are going to need assistance with everyday tasks. You are going to want someone to be around to cook and prepare your food, and help you out with literally any task you need to do, such as getting out of bed or getting up for water. The less you move and the more you relax during the first two or three days following your surgery, the smoother the healing process will be. You are going to be very sore and tired in the first few days following surgery.

If you don't have anyone to assist you, you should look into hiring some in-home care to assist you with the recovery process.

#2 Plan For An Intense Two-Week Recovery Period

The full recovery time for a tummy tuck surgery before you are able to resume normal everyday activities, like preparing your own food or doing the laundry, is two weeks long. 

During this time period, you really need to pay attention to what your body is telling you. As soon as you feel tired, you should lay down and get some rest. As soon as you feel hungry, you should eat a small meal. It is vitally important that you get a lot of rest during this two-week recovery period and provide your body with the food and fuel that it needs to heal. The more you listen to your body, the less likely you are to experience complications.

#3 Be Prepared To Be Tired For Up To Six Weeks

For the next month after your intense two-week recovery period, be prepared to not have the same amount of energy that you normally do. You should be able to resume work and childcare duties, but don't be surprised if you are wiped out at the end of the day and end up needing to go to sleep a couple of hours earlier. 

Your body is still recovering, and you are going to need to be able to relax when you get home from work. If you have children, pets, or elderly parents to take care of, you may want to arrange for a little extra support during this time as well.

#4 The Full Healing Process Takes Up To A Year

You should be aware that the full healing process for your body will take up to a year. After about six to eight weeks, you should stop being tired all the time and feel up to doing your normal activities.

Over the course of the next year, your scar will fade from initially being a dark red color until it is gone completely. Your skin around your stomach will gradually regain sensation after being numb. Your stomach area will continue to swell at times, especially in the morning and evening hours, until it returns to normal. This entire process generally takes place over the course of a year.

Before you decide to get a tummy tuck, make sure that you can arrange for lots of extra assistance for the first two weeks and evening support for the following four to six weeks. For full results and recovery, you'll need to wait up to a year. This is not an overnight process, it is a year-long investment of time. Contact a clinic like Laufer Institute of Plastic Surgery for more information.

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