subject: What Kind Of Post Operative Care Should I Expect After Liposuction? [print this page] When the primary concern with liposuction was loss of blood, prolonged high compression was the usual post operative treatment. Patients would have larger incisions that would need be suchered (or stitched) in order to heal properly. The patient would then wear a high pressure garment meant to prevent bleeding. When the tumescent technique became the primary means of liposuction, the post operative care changed.
With the tumescent technique the most common problems that occur after the surgery are swelling, bruising, and tenderness. This can be caused by two things. There might be blood tinged tumescent fluid (a mixture of lidocaine and epinephrine) trapped underneath the skin, or the subcutaneous lymphatic capillaries may have been damaged by the surgery. The old method of high compression will only aggravate these problems, but open drainage and bimodal compression and greatly comfort patients experiencing these after affects.
Microcannulas are used with the tumescent technique, and so much smaller adits, or incisions, need to be made. These incisions do not need to be stitched, in fact, leaving them open in critical for open drainage. If the adits are created in places that can take advantage of gravity, any blood tinged tumescent fluid can be drained out of the incisions fairly quickly. This will relieve a lot of tenderness and swelling. If the adits were suchered ad high compression was applied, the fluid would not be able to escape, and the swelling and tenderness would remain for a long period of time.
Bimodal compression is also important during post operative care. Bimodal compression garments are used to help speed drainage and recovery. In the first stage, super absorbent pads are used on the sites of incisions, and high pressure is applied while drainage persists. This will help to make sure that all the remaining tumescent fluid is released. The pads will absorb the tumescent fluid, and they also help to spread the compression uniformly across the surface of the skin, which can actually help prevent bruising. 24 hours after the drainage has stopped, the second stage of bimodal compression can begin. During the second stage only a moderate amount, or even no compression is applied. Some patients find it more comfortable to continue wearing a compression garment, with only minimal amount of compression being applied.
The most important thing during post operative care is that you pay attention to any instructions the surgeon give you, the right methods and equipment are being used, including compression garments that are easy for the patient to remove and put on, and that you let the surgeon know about any unusual discomfort or symptoms that you might be experiencing.
