After the surgery, it is important for patients to refrain from any heavy lifting, straining, or over-activity. While most patients are up and around one or two days after surgery, each case is different. It is therefore important to follow the physician s recommendations about when normal activity can be resumed. There are thousands of abdominoplasties successfully performed each year. The amount of improvement depends on the extent of the surgery, the patient s body build and the individual s healing process.
Complications are relatively rare and are thoroughly discussed with the patient before the surgery.
Patients often feel so good they are anxious to resume their normal activities earlier than they should. Taking it slow and easy is usually best, but if the patient has any questions about whether or not an activity is OK, they should contact their surgeon. Abdominoplasty is a cosmetic procedure. Sometimes it is scheduled in conjunction with gynecological surgeries such as bladder re-suspension or hysterectomy. This minimizes the patient s expenditures for the operating facility and anesthesia, and requires only one recovery period instead of two.