One of the most common questions patients will ask in a plastic surgery consultation is…how long will my recovery be? While that question seems straightforward, it is not. Recovery from surgery can mean a lot of different things depending upon one’s end point of recovery. Does that mean how long until the pain lessens? When will I be able to go out of the house? When can I return to work? How long until I can drive? When can I start working out? At what point do I start looking normal again? How soon can I travel or leave on a trip?

Recovery is a multi-faceted issue and even the same procedure will have different times until one feels normal. Even though there is great variability amongst procedures and patients, there are several recovery concepts that are consistent. First, and I mean no disrespect, double whatever your plastic surgeon tells you. Unless one has actually had the procedure you can not really know. Having observed numerous of my employees and family members undergo plastic surgery and actually watch their recovery closer (and regularly hear about it) than any other patient, everything takes longer than what we as plastic surgeons think. Secondly, most patients have an understandable naevity about what any surgery feels like afterwards unless they have a history of one or more major surgeries. They remain optimists and have a much higher enthusiasm for how quickly they will begin to do things or look normal again.

From the perspective of recovery, let’s talk about the time of near full recovery. When will the patient feel close or exactly as they feel when they are sitting in the consultation…having no activity restrictions, looking normal, and feeling only the faintest twinges of soreness and tingling as the feeling and full movement returns to the operative site.

For the most common cosmetic plastic surgery procedures:

Breast Augmentation  Six weeks. By then the breasts will be soft and be closer to the final shape that they are going to have. Numbness on the underside of the breast skin will still be there and that takes up to six months to fully recovery. Even strenuous sports activities will not be a problem.

Breast Reduction Eight weeks. The longest recovery issue in most breast reductions is the complete healing of all incisional areas. Spitting of sutures and small opening of the inverted T closure are usually not completely over for several months.

Tummy Tuck Ten to twelve weeks. In general, tummy tucks slow patients down much more than they ever anticipate. Getting your energy levels back and feeling spry again takes months. Numbness of the skin between the belly button and the pubis can take up to a year to return.

Liposuction  Three months. How many and what areas are treated will make a big difference. Return of suppleness of the skin, elimination of  palpable lumps and bumps under the skin, and no more shooting pains as nerves recover and scar tissue is stretched out takes a while. As does looking at the final shape and contour result.

Facelift Eight weeks. Minor areas of bruising and swelling, tightness in the neck, and incisional redness take several months to settle down. Numbness in front of the ear will take longer.

Rhinoplasty Six weeks. Obvious swelling and stiffness of the nose settles and breathing (if internal nasal surgery was done) is more normal. The nose shows most of the desired changes even though minor amounts of swelling take six months or more to completely go away. Numbness of the tip skin persists even longer.

Blepharoplasty  Four weeks. Bruising, swelling, and visibility of the incisions will pass social inspection. Minor issues of lid tightness and eye dryness may persist longer for some.

Full recovery does not imply that one can’t go back to work and perform many normal daily activities much sooner. That is a functional recovery and means that one can or has to tolerate lingering recovery issues such as pain, swelling, bruising and restriction from more strenuous physical activities. But when it comes to feeling and looking like you again (albeit new and improved!), able to completely enjoy travel and a vacation, and be back to even the most strenuous activity…think full recovery.   

Dr. Barry Eppley

http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com

http://www.ologyspa.com

Indianapolis, Indiana