Any doctor worth his salt will tell you that, she says. It s very gradual. But Sherman says even the delayed healing phase which involves the tightness and diminished-sensitivity symptoms takes, at worst, about six months to resolve. I think one year is somewhat of an overreaction, he says. Liposuction, which allows for the extraction of fat and fat cells through small suction tools, is usually safe because blood isn t being removed, says Sherman.
Recovery is much less traumatic than for a facelift.
Around day three, it s very common, says Stephen Cohen, M.D., of Faces in San Diego. Surgery stimulates the body to secrete adrenaline and steroids and these are stress reactions, says Cohen. Around day three, those hormones start to drain out of you, and it s common to feel down, he says. That s the time when people look in the mirror and regret what they ve done. Patients need a lot of nursing in the early period following surgery.