As Spring nears I have done several Tummy Tucks the past few weeks and one of the most common questions after surgery is how long the swelling will last. The answer is that some patients will have swelling for as few as 6 weeks but some will have some swelling for 3-6 months. Now, before you get too worried, understand that after these procedures, you will look significantly better immediately swollen or not. These operations produce very dramatic results for most patients and are very popular. The swelling is more of how the tummy feels as opposed to how things look. Patients will report feeling a bit bloated by the end of the day yet they still look flat. The swelling is a result of the tiny veins and lymphatic vessels that are divided as part of the operation. It takes those a while to grow back and until they do some swelling will result. The good thing is, in the end, it always goes away!

Lee Corbett, MD

www.CorbettCosmeticSurgery.com