What to Expect Before, During, and After Liposuction

When we are kids, we think that the fat in our bodies is evenly distributed from our head to our toes. The truth is that fat often ends up in pockets, and sometimes, the easiest way to remove these pockets of fat is with liposuction.

Liposuction can be done by itself to help people “even out” the fat distribution in their bodies or it can be done in conjunction with other cosmetic procedures such as a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty). Contrary to popular belief, liposuction is not recommended for people who need to lose hundreds of pounds, as studies have shown that this can cause a kind of shock that can be quite damaging, and even fatal, to your system.

Preparing for your liposuction surgery is relatively easy. Your cosmetic surgeon will give you a schedule you need to follow with instructions starting about two weeks prior to your operation. You will be asked to stop taking things like aspirin and prescription medications. You will be asked to go six hours without eating before your surgery. You won’t be able to walk or drive home from your surgery, so be sure someone is there to assist you. You will want someone to be available to check on your during your recovery period as well.

During the surgery, you will likely be put under anesthesia. The average liposuction procedure should last approximately an hour. Once the operation is over, you will likely be groggy for a while and you may be asked to wear a compressor unit that looks a lot like a girdle to take care of the excess fluid that forms under the skin after surgery. As far as the pain goes, you will be given painkillers to help your recovery. Most people rank the pain during recovery as being medium to high.

You can expect to wait four to six weeks after your procedure for all of the swelling and bruising to go away. It won’t be until all of the swelling has gone away that you can see if the liposuction surgery gave you the look you wanted.