Are you finally ready to regain your trim, toned tummy? Is an abdominoplasty on the agenda? While the prospect of regaining a slender midsection is exciting, the specifics of how to care for yourself following your procedure can seem complex. Like any major surgical procedure, a tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, requires you to follow strict postoperative instructions to minimize your risks and maximize your results. Here are a few tips to help make the recovery process easier:

First Few Days

After your procedure, the first few days will be challenging. First and foremost, rest is the most important thing. Ensuring that you are well-rested gives your body a chance to recover and heal. However, you should not stay in bed, immobile. Walking helps to circulate the blood, which not only aids in healing but also minimizes the risk of blood clots. The first few days will be the time when you experience the most pain, but this can be managed with pain medication prescribed by Dr. Calabria. If you feel that your pain is too extreme or intense, contact our office.

Time Off From Work

It will be necessary to take some time away from work. At a minimum, you should expect to take approximately two weeks off. However, this is the most appropriate time off for patients who work in an office setting with little physical activity. If your job is more physically demanding, then you should expect to have a longer recovery period before returning to work.

Limit Strenuous Activity

Though you are encouraged to resume light daily activities after a few days, you should refrain from engaging in more strenuous activities for a minimum of six weeks or until Dr. Calabria clears you. This activity includes any heavy lifting or exercise (aside from light walking). If you have young children, you will need to make sure you have assistance during the first few weeks after your procedure.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

You will heal more quickly, and your results will last longer if you maintain a healthy lifestyle. Once you are fully healed, regular exercise will help maintain your slender tummy and keep your body in an overall state of good health. You should refrain from smoking for at least six weeks after your surgery, but your results will last longer, and you will be healthier if you refrain from smoking at all.

Undergoing tummy tuck surgery can be life-changing. It will restore your youthful, natural contours, and you will have the trim, toned tummy that you were dreaming of. By following your postoperative instructions and the guidelines for recovery, you will be pleased with long-lasting results.

Schedule a consultation with Dr. Calabria today if you have questions about how tummy tuck surgery can benefit you. Contact our Beverly Hills office at 323.612.0859, our Rancho Mirage office at 760.836.0077, or our Milan, Italy location at 39.349.4662323.

The cause of capsular contracture is unknown but the most current hypothesis is that is a subclinical bacterial infection. The current treatment of capsular contracture is the surgical removal of the scar tissue. Prevention is the key. The most helpful post operative way to prevent capsular contracture is early massage.

The biggest mistake is to wait weeks before starting the massage. The breast massage needs to start the next day after surgery when the pocket that has been created by the surgeon is still open and wide. Also a common mistake is how to massage the breasts. Very often the massage is done with too caution and it is too light. The patient is afraid that being too aggressive would hurt the final outcome. It is just the opposite. The purpose of the massage is to move the implant in the sub-muscular pocket so the implant needs to be displaced superiorly, laterally and centrally and the movement of the implant should be visible enough to create fulness in the direction of the push. It is important to move just the implant and not the breast tissue with it. A common mistake is to massage the breast tissue instead of moving the implant away from the breast tissue. The way to do it is to put the palm of the hand below or lateral to the breast, hold the lateral edge of the hand on the chest wall and bring the palm down toward the breast. This way only the implant will be displaced and you can notice it by creating a fullness in the upper and central quadrant of the breasts. There are on line some helpful live demonstrations, but some of them are not correct. It is important to have the plastic surgeon tech the patient how to do it before the surgery and 1-2 days after even if the breasts are still sore. Starting early and do it aggressively ids the key to prevent capsular contracture.