Are Compression Garments Necessary After Liposuction

Garment

After their surgery, most liposuction patients are required to wear some sort of elastic compression garment. Some patients wonder why they have to do this and if it’s really necessary. This article will address the purpose of these garments and why it’s important to wear them for the entire time directed by the doctor.

Many patientes are less than enthusiastic when it comes to wearing their compression garments. Made from some sort of stretchy cloth, they can be irritating or uncomfortable to wear. They also frequently look funny because they’re intended for function, not beauty. However, they are very important to wear, because they help assist in the healing process.

Compression garments can help a liposuction patients to reduce bleeding and swelling. They can also help assist in the post-surgery draining process. The most common form of liposuction today is the tumescent technique, which injects large amounts of fluid into the target area in order to make it easier to remove fat. Much of this excess fluid is removed during surgery, however, some still remains in the body. The faster this fluid exits the body, the better and more quickly the body will be able to recover, and the more quickly post-surgery swelling will go down. The pressure supplied by compression garments help encourage excess fluids to leave the body as quickly as possible.

The amount of time that you will need to wear a compression garment after your liposuction will depend greatly on what went on during your surgery. The biggest factor is whether or not your doctor stitched your incision sites shut. If the incisions were left open, you will probably only need to wear your garment for a few days. The rule of thumb is, you can remove your compression garment 24 hours after your incisions have completely stopped draining.

If your surgeon chooses to close your incisions, then you will have to wear a garment for a much longer time. Sewing the incisions shut traps excess fluid in the body for much longer, which thus requires a longer time spent wearing the garment. If your surgery closed your incisions, you will probably have to wear the garment for somewhere between 2 and 6 weeks.

If you do not wear your compresssion garments for the full time specified by your doctor, you could experience complications including lengthier healing time, less pleasing results and more serious health issues. However, this does not mean that you should wear your compression garment for longer than is necessary “just in case.” There is no research to show that wearing a compression garment for an extended period of time is helpful, and it can even be detrimental.

The most basic rule regarding the wearing of compression garments after liposuction is to do what your doctor says. Your surgeon will know what the proper length of time is, and he or she can give you more detailed instructions on how to best recover from your liposuction.