Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Skin Restoration and Laser Institute

Get ready to stand in awe of your new body!  This is an exciting time!  Liposculpture can be such a rewarding procedure! Congratulations on taking the steps to get the body you want!

I think it’s important to realize that recovering from Liposculpture can take several weeks for all of the swelling to go away and for your skin to re-conform itself. The end result does not happen over-night. However, most often the majority of your recovery will happen in the first two weeks.

Pain / discomfort:

For the most part, you will feel sore and bruised in the areas where fat was removed. It is nothing that should keep you from concentrating on or completing daily tasks. Most of our patients control post-surgical discomfort with Tylenol, but of course you will also have access to a prescription pain medication in case you should need it during the first few days of recovery.  There are two things you can do to help yourself:

1. Follow the directions given to you by our office (not the ones on the internet).
2. Move your muscles!

Exercise:

If you are a gym rat, we do not want you to lose momentum at the gym and want to get you back to your work out as soon as your body is ready.  If you are not a gym rat, you might find that your new body becomes the incentive you needed to put self-care, a healthy diet and exercise on your priority list. Liposculpture is often very motivating in that way!

You can typically expect to ease back into your work outs with a schedule that looks something like this:

• 1^st week: You will be asked to restrict exercise to light activity such as walking and routine motion movement.

2^nd week: You are likely to be released to go back to the gym – but start slowly. You can resume walking on an incline and weight lifting at no more than 50% of your normal level. Refrain from running, jogging, and impact aerobics.

• 3^rd week: You can generally expect all exercise restrictions to be lifted at this point (pending your visit with Dr. Castillo). When you resume running, jogging, or high impact aerobics, I recommend wearing body spandex for a few weeks just to help you feel more secure with movement.

Recovery:  Days 0-5 Post-Surgery:

• You will want to take it easy for the first 48 hours which is the perfect time to catch up on a good book or your movie list.
• Recovering from liposculpture is NOT something that is done from your bed. You will be up and walking as tolerated the day of your surgery. As long as you feel up to it, we ask that you start walking a mile each day beginning the day after your surgery. Keeping your muscles warm by moving them will help to speed up your recovery.
• Clothing: Remember that for the first 24-36 hours you may experience some tumescent fluid drainage so avoid wearing for favorite outfits as it can be a little messy.
• Increase your fluid intake for the first few days after surgery.
• Avoid salty diets as they can increase water retention.
• You will be able to shower 48 hours after surgery. You can launder your compression body garment at this time if needed. You will need to wait to take a bath until 24 hours after your sutures are removed (one week post-surgery).
• For the first week, you will remain in the compression body garment you were sent home in.
• If we performed liposculpture on the back side of your body, sitting on hard furnishing may not feel good for the first few days. I recommend placing a small hand towel on each side of the toilet seat before you use the restroom or change your toilet seat for a cushioned one.
• You can expect to be somewhat sore and bruised. You are likely to notice an increase in swelling and bruising days 4-7, then those symptoms will begin to dissipate over the next few weeks. Remember that gravity pulls fluids down so don’t be surprised to see bruising or yellowing travel to areas lower than the regions we worked on. It will resolve as well.

Recovery: One Week Post-Surgery:

• You will return to our office for your first check-up on day 6 or 7. We will remove your tiny sutures and review your 1-week post-op instructions. While you will already be able to see some improvements in your body proportions, you will still be quite swollen so you will have to wait a little longer to see your results.
• If you have not already returned to work, you will be able to do so at this time.
• After your one-week post-op visit, you will no longer need to wear the compression garment provided by our office. Instead you can begin wearing a Spanx garment during the day and you can go without a garment while sleeping at night.
• Dr. Castillo may ask you to begin soaking in a warm bath at this point to help increase circulation, and decrease swelling and soreness. Try placing a thick bath towel in the bottom of your tub to sit on to ease any discomfort of sitting on a hard surface.

Recovery: 2 Weeks Post-Surgery:

• The toughest part is behind you and you will begin to see the rewards of your procedure!
• You will likely be released to go back to the gym at 50% of your normal effort.
• Hold out a little longer to start buying new clothes, your body is still changing, and you may still have some swelling in certain areas (nothing others will notice).
• The majority of your bruising and swelling should be resolving.

 Recovery – 3 weeks Post-Surgery And Beyond:

• 2^nd Post-Op Visit: You will return to see Dr. Castillo for a 3-week post-op visit. We will take your weight and measurements to see how you are progressing and discuss your target weight. You can expect to be released from any prior exercise restrictions at your 3-week visit.
• Expect to still have some minor recovery symptoms such as small areas that may feel a little firmer that others known as woody edema. This will eventually resolve on its own but Dr. Castillo may ask you to massage those areas (if they occur) for a few minutes each day to improve the woody edema more quickly.
• You will notice your body shape is beginning to improve and your clothing will fit better; more proportionate. It will only get better from here!
• You will no longer need to wear a body garment after your 3-week check-up! Yay!!

• 3-month post-op visit – By this point, patients are enjoying their new body and are so happy with their results and recovery that they often feel they don’t need to come back for their 3- month check-up after surgery. Even though you look and feel fabulous, I encourage you to keep this appointment. Think of this visit as your “Reveal.”  Dr. will talk to you about your progression and what to expect from here on out. We will take final measurements and weight. We will take your after photos and will mail a copy of them to you.  These photos are an important part of your medical record so be sure to date them and keep them in a safe place.

 One Last Thought:

The decision to tell family, friends, co-workers etc. that you had liposculpture is entirely up to you.  Patients often feel compelled to tell people about their choice to have liposculpture because they think others will notice anyway.  The truth is, people won’t look at you notice how amazingly proportionate you are now. They are more like to ask about which changes you have made to your diet or what new exercise program you are on.  So, the choice to share your journey to looking and feeling better is up to you.  You are not obligated to share that information unless you are comfortable doing so. While friends and family will notice that you look totally awesome and probably be a little envious, it is unlikely that they will look at you and think you had liposculpture.

Of course, we do love it when you brag about your experience with us.

Roxanne Grace
Skincare and Laser Specialist
G. D. Castillo, M.D.
COSMETIC PLASTIC SURGERY

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