Make no mistake - having a tummy tuck is major surgery, and it can take anything from a couple of weeks to months for you to recover.
The medical term for a tummy tuck is Abdominoplasty. The purpose of a tummy tuck is to tighten the abdomen walls and muscles. It does a great job of minimizing a protruding stomach, but it's not always straightforward. Some possible side effects after having a tummy tuck include scarring, infection or a long recovery period.
Some people think that a tummy tuck is a magical solution to help them lose a substantial amount of weight, but this isn't true. In fact, a good surgeon will usually refuse to perform this surgery on a very obese person. There are too many risks, both with the surgery and the anesthesia, for a surgeon to consider a tummy tuck on an obese person. It's extremely likely that an obese person who does have a tummy tuck will have an extended recovery period because of major complications after the surgery.
A woman who is planning to become pregnant, or has in fact had a recent pregnancy, should definitely not have a tummy tuck. Pregnancy puts a lot of pressure on the abdominal wall, and the tummy tuck scare may not be able to stand the strain. After a woman has been pregnant her body needs time to recover, and it's important to take that time, rather than putting more pressure on your body and system with major surgery.
Tummy tuck surgery is a major surgical procedure, and so there are always possible postoperative problems that can occur. These might include infection of the wound, blood clots or chest infections. Some people also have skin that takes a long time to heal, so that could mean they have to stay in hospital much longer than planned, and will have a much longer recovery period.
It's also not recommended that people who've undergone abdominal surgery previously have a tummy tuck, particularly if there is some scarring left behind from the earlier surgery. The risk of compromising recovery from the tummy tuck would be greatly increased.
One important thing to note is that it's important to get out of bed and move about as soon as you can after you've had tummy tuck surgery. This helps to promote healing of the wound and will speed up your recovery time. Staying in bed after major surgery is actually one of the worst things you can choose to do.
