Body Lift Recovery
You’ve worked hard to lose all that weight. What you had not expected was that you would be left with excess skin and loose, flabby muscles. Our surgeons at Jefferson Plastic Surgery in Philadelphia, PA recommend a body lift procedure to remove flabby skin and underlying tissue, and tighten up loose muscles to improve tone. However, we would caution you to not forget that a body lift procedure is still a major surgical undertaking, despite being purely elective.
The reason we say this is because our patients can get so excited to finally be able to show off the results from all of their efforts to get into better shape that they push themselves too hard during the recovery phase after surgery because they may not take the procedure seriously. Below are some of our surgeons’ suggestions for taking proper care of yourself during recovery to get the best possible outcome.
Don’t Go It Alone
The first few days after any major surgery are not the time to decide to tough it out by yourself. This is actually the most critical period in your healing following your body lift procedure, which will determine how well your healing will go and will ultimately affect the final results. You will need somebody else to take care of you for the first 48 hours after surgery, as you will still be feeling the effects of the anesthetic.
Speed Your Recovery
As tempting as it may be to lounge in bed or on the couch all day, our surgeons strongly caution against doing so. You need to get up and move around as soon as possible, preferably on the same day as your surgery. This will keep your circulation moving and prevent blood and fluids from pooling in your extremities, which will otherwise lead to increased swelling. Start out by walking short distances, such as to and from the bathroom. Try and walk just a bit further each day.
Reducing the amount and duration of bruising and swelling you experience at the incision sites will also speed your recovery. Once the You can apply ice, cold gel packs, or cold compresses in the first 48 hours after surgery to reduce swelling. The herb Arnica montana will also help reduce bruising and swelling.
Resuming Regular Activities
Your recovery will depend on your age, general health, and healing ability. However, our surgeons generally recommend taking off a minimum of two weeks from work or school for your initial recovery period. By the end of those two weeks, you should also be able to resume driving and light exercise, such as yoga or walking.
Four weeks following your body lift, you should be able to do moderate exertion as part of your exercise, such as light jogging and bicycling. Once you get to six to eight weeks, you will most likely be able to resume your regular exercise routine. It is important to keep up your regular exercise and diet routine, as you will want to continue to keep your weight as steady as possible in order to maintain the results from your body lift procedure.
A body lift procedure can be the final phase in your plan to lose weight and improve your health. However, this plan does not end the minute that your surgery does. You will need to focus on your recovery period in order to get long-lasting results that will make you happy.