Liposuction is the second most popular cosmetic surgery procedure in the United States, after breast augmentation. Most people see good results from liposuction, and we do our part to ensure you have the best possible results, but you also have a role to play. If you do your part to adequately prepare for surgery and recovery, you are more likely to see better results from your liposuction procedure.

During your consultation, we will talk to you about preparation and recovery from liposuction in great detail. Call or email Kansas City plastic surgeon Dr. Matt Chhatre to talk about the liposuction procedure in detail.

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Planning Ahead For Liposuction

Appropriate preparation will go a long way toward ensuring that your liposuction procedure and recovery goes off without significant complications.

A Few Weeks before Surgery you should arrange for someone to drop you off and pick you up from surgery. You should talk to friends and family members about taking care of kids and pets so that you will have fewer responsibilities during your recovery period. You should also plan a recovery space that will be relaxing, comforting, and convenient. Make sure you have plenty of entertainment handy, since you will likely be spending a lot of time in your recovery space for a few days after surgery. You should quit smoking, hopefully for life, since smoking can reduce the quality and longevity of results, but at least until after recovery. You should also stop taking vitamin E and any aspirin products for a few weeks before surgery.

A Few Days before Surgery you should make sure you have some easy but nutritious meals for your recovery period. Home-made frozen meals are a good choice. Factory prepared frozen meals are not as good, because they contain less nutrition and more things your body doesn’t need. Fill all your prescriptions. Check on your recovery space.

The Day of Surgery you should have a hot shower with soap in the morning to reduce your risk of infection. You should not shave or wax the surgical areas. Do not eat the morning of surgery.

Recovery From Liposuction

Patients have very different post-liposuction experiences. Some report significant discomfort. Others say the procedure is merely uncomfortable. It’s impossible to say what your experience will be.

After liposuction, you will wear a compression garment to help shape the area. You will wear the garment for up to 6-8 weeks, depending on your results.

Light exercise, especially walking, is encouraged a day or two after liposuction, although you will want to avoid strenuous exercise for several weeks after surgery. If your job does not involve strenuous physical activity, you can return after a few days, but a job with significant physical labor may require a couple weeks off.

Swelling and bruising is normal in the postoperative period. They will pass, but they may make it difficult for you to appreciate the results in the immediate postoperative period. Many patients experience what is known as the 3-Day Blues after surgery. Be prepared for this, and enlist the help of friends and family members to focus on the good results you will see when recovery is complete.

If you would like to learn more about preparation for liposuction, the liposuction procedure, or liposuction recovery, schedule a consultation at Summit Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in Lee’s Summit, Missouri today.