Recovery after surgery

The limiting factor is not the incisions but tightness, fatigue and the need to wear compression continuously. Many patients can sit at a desk from day 4 but find concentration difficult owing to discomfort and analgesia.

Schedule surgery before a weekend if work allows, and build in a few buffer days beyond the minimum. Returning too early and then needing further time off is usually more disruptive than taking adequate leave initially.

Avoid prolonged uninterrupted sitting in the first two weeks. Standing and walking for a few minutes every hour reduces venous thrombosis risk and aids fluid drainage.

With submuscular placement, activity restrictions are usually longer because pectoralis major has been dissected and needs time to heal. Forceful pectoral contraction early on can displace the implant from the created pocket.

The postoperative support garment holds the implant in position while the capsule forms, typically worn continuously for 4 to 6 weeks. This directly affects final implant position and is not a minor detail.

Breast shape in the first month is usually higher and firmer than the final result. Implants need time to settle into position, a process termed drop and fluff, generally complete at 3 to 6 months.

This is the most uncomfortable part of recovery and the most frequently abandoned. Stopping compression early is a common cause of surface irregularity and skin laxity after liposuction.

The garment must be correctly sized. Too tight causes skin indentation, impairs circulation and can create permanent grooves. Too loose achieves nothing. Report numbness, increasing pain or skin discolouration under the garment immediately.

Have two garments so one can be worn while the other is washed. A small detail, but it determines whether you actually complete the prescribed period.

Early mobilisation and returning to exercise are two different things and are easily confused. Standing and walking for a few minutes each hour in the first days is a mandatory safety measure. Raising heart rate and blood pressure through training is what has to wait for tissue healing.

Exercising too early creates three problems: raised blood pressure increasing bleeding and haematoma risk, increased oedema prolonging recovery, and in breast or abdominal surgery, tension across a healing repair.

After abdominoplasty, abdominal exercises are deferred longest, generally at least 8 weeks, because the plicated fascia needs time to reach mechanical strength.

A practical rule: increase intensity gradually and let your body set the pace. If an activity causes pain, increasing tightness or renewed swelling by the end of the day, you are moving faster than the tissue is healing.

Swelling is often asymmetric and fluctuates through the day, worse by late afternoon. This reflects normal lymphatic drainage rather than a problem.

Factors that prolong swelling: high salt intake, alcohol, poor sleep, early activity and inadequate compression. Of these, reducing dietary salt for the first four weeks has more effect than most people expect.

One point matters: do not judge the aesthetic result while swelling persists. A great deal of unnecessary anxiety comes from comparing a week-two appearance against expectations for the final outcome.

Regarding traditional restrictions on water spinach, beef, eggs and seafood: there is no clear scientific evidence that these cause keloid or hyperpigmented scarring. Conversely, excessive protein restriction delays healing, since collagen synthesis requires protein. If you are not allergic, there is no need to avoid these foods.

What genuinely matters: adequate protein (around 1.2 to 1.5g per kg body weight daily during healing), adequate hydration, and glycaemic control if you are diabetic.

Be cautious with supplements. High-dose vitamin E, fish oil and high-dose turmeric have antiplatelet effects and should be avoided for the first two weeks postoperatively. Ask your surgeon before taking anything.

Silicone is the only agent with consistent evidence in international guidance for preventing hypertrophic scarring. The key is continuity: 12 to 24 hours daily over several months, not occasional application.

Sun protection is particularly important in Asian skin given the high risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Scars exposed to sun in the first year become considerably darker and persist longer than protected ones.

Scars mature over 12 to 18 months. Between weeks 6 and 12 they are typically red, firm and raised; this is the normal proliferative phase and does not mean the scar will remain poor. If a scar thickens markedly, itches significantly and extends beyond the incision line, seek review early, as effective interventions exist at that stage.

The typical course: month one is the swelling phase and does not reflect the result. Months 2 to 3 reveal the basic shape. Months 4 to 6 bring progressive refinement as tissues soften. Beyond month 6, change is mostly continued scar fading.

This is why RASA photographs at standardised intervals and does not assess outcomes before month three. Meaningful comparison requires the same posture, lighting and distance.

If something remains unsatisfactory at 6 months, that is the appropriate time to discuss revision with your surgeon. Earlier intervention is generally inadvisable because tissues have not settled.

The last two items are genuine emergencies: breathlessness with chest pain suggests pulmonary embolism, and unilateral calf pain with swelling suggests deep vein thrombosis. In either case attend the nearest emergency facility immediately rather than waiting to reach the surgical team.

Among the remainder, increasing pain is the most significant sign. The normal course is day-by-day improvement. Pain that escalates after day three usually indicates a developing haematoma, seroma or infection.

RASA maintains a direct postoperative contact channel. The principle is to report early and report often rather than self-monitor and report late. No question is an imposition during this period.

Why showering differs from bathing: running water drains away rather than soaking the wound, whereas immersion exposes the incision to prolonged contact with potentially contaminated water, macerating the wound edges and raising infection risk.

Where drains are in place, showering depends on their removal. Nursing staff will advise according to your situation.

Very hot water causes vasodilation and increases swelling, and in numb areas carries a burn risk because sensation has not fully returned. Use moderately warm water for the first few weeks.

The first night carries the highest haematoma risk, particularly after facelift and breast surgery. Monitoring in a clinical setting during this window allows prompt management if a problem arises.

For day cases, it is mandatory to have an adult accompany you home and stay with you for the first 24 hours. After general anaesthesia, judgement and coordination are not fully restored even when you feel alert.

Do not drive for 24 to 48 hours after general anaesthesia, even if you feel entirely normal.

Avoid drawing conclusions early. Tissue after liposuction passes through a firm, uneven phase lasting several weeks; this is part of normal healing rather than a technical failure.

Professional manual lymphatic drainage genuinely reduces localised fibrosis and typically begins at weeks 2 to 3 on surgical advice. It is frequently skipped yet clearly affects surface quality.

For true defects persisting past 6 months, autologous fat grafting is usually the better solution for depressions, restoring volume and improving scarred tissue quality. Revision is best performed by someone familiar with the original operation.

If early travel is unavoidable, risk-reduction measures include graduated compression stockings, adequate hydration, avoiding alcohol and caffeine, standing and walking hourly, and performing ankle exercises while seated.

Patients travelling from a distance for surgery at RASA should plan to stay at least 7 to 10 days, covering suture removal and the first review. This matters more than most people expect, since any early problems present within that window.

Discuss your travel plans with the surgeon when planning the operation, so that surgical and follow-up dates can be arranged accordingly.

Standardising follow-up photography (same posture, distance and lighting) is not a formality. It is the only way to assess progress objectively, rather than comparing images taken under different conditions and drawing incorrect conclusions.

For patients living at a distance, reviews after month one can be conducted online with photographs taken to a supplied protocol, reserving the key milestones for in-person assessment.

Postoperative records are held in RASA’s internal system, so the surgeon has your full course available at any subsequent consultation.