DC Tummy Tuck

How long is Tummy tuck Recovery?

For any tummy tuck with muscle tightening the average patient takes about two weeks off. Even so, it’s nice to have a third week off and not need it, rather than the other way around. Unfortunately, there is no absolute standard. Some patients recover more quickly and others more slowly. Whenever muscles are tightened, whether full or mini tummy tuck, there is always discomfort.

Can you tell me about the scar?

I ask my patients to bring in a favorite, and hopefully timeless, common sense underwear or bathing suit. No thongs, no strings, no lace, and no frills. Something about an inch and a half wide in the hip that they would like to see themselves in post operatively, but something inexpensive in case I get marker on it.

How flat will my tummy be ?

How flat a patients abdominal wall can be after surgery will vary. The weight inside the belly (visceral fat) determines how flat the belly will be. As a general rule, the more slender the patient is to start, the flatter the abdomen will be. Slender patients stay flatter, medium weight patients will stretch medium, but usually see improvement.

Do you use a pain Pump?

A pain pump is essentially a balloon filled with local anesthetic that drizzles the anesthetic under the skin via small tubes placed internally at the time of surgery. The tubes are removed 3-5 days after surgery. I have never liked pain pumps and no longer use them. Exparel, discussed below, while more expensive, works much better.

What is Exparel?

Exparel is a medication used to manage post-surgical pain. While not new, it is a “newer” drug that is still under patent. That it is why it is so expensive – there is no generic yet. It combines a long acting local anesthetic in a slow release formula that lasts as long as 4 days.