How Long Should I Wear Compression Garment After Liposuction
Compression Garments are used to help the Body recover from Liposuction by creating pressure so your body can heal, but sometimes you can’t feel it. With the proper compression, exercise and diet you can ensure a great recovery. Learn How Long Should I Wear Compression Garment After Liposuction, how to wear compression garment after liposuction, how to wash compression garment after liposuction, and sleeping without compression garment after lipo.
In this guide, we find out How Long Should I Wear Compression Garment After Liposuction, how to wear compression garment after liposuction, how to wash compression garment after liposuction, and sleeping without compression garment after lipo.
How Long Should I Wear Compression Garment After Liposuction
The compression garment is a very important part of the post-surgery recovery process. While it helps to heal the incisions made during liposuction, it also helps to shape your body and make you appear slimmer after surgery. Wearing a compression garment is also very important while traveling home from the hospital or while sleeping in order to avoid any type of swelling or bleeding that may occur during this time.
A compression garment helps to sculpt the body after surgery.
Compression garments are worn for a few weeks following liposuction surgery. They help to sculpt the body and aid in the recovery process by supporting the skin as it heals. These garments help reduce swelling and minimize bruising on your body.
Compression stockings are different from compression garments, although both serve similar purposes—to promote healing after surgery. A compression garment is usually tighter than a stocking, but some stockings can be tight enough to qualify as a compression garment if they’re made out of graduated elastic material (which means they get gradually tighter). Compression stockings tend to be used more often in medical settings than after cosmetic surgeries like liposuction, while compression garments are commonly used following procedures such as facelifts or tummy tucks.
The compression garment should be worn 24 hours a day for the first three weeks or so.
The compression garment should be worn 24 hours a day for the first three weeks or so. The exception to this rule is showering and bathing, in which case the garment should be removed (or loosened) so that water can run off of it while you are washing yourself.
At this point in time, your body still needs all of the help it can get to aid recovery—especially since you will be doing things like sitting down and getting up multiple times throughout the day. This can cause further bruising and swelling as well as delayed healing time.
After that, the patient can start with 8 hours every day, then slowly decrease their wearing time to 12 hours during night time only.
After that, the patient can start with 8 hours every day, then slowly decrease their wearing time to 12 hours during night time only.
If you sleep on your stomach or back, it is not recommended for you to wear a compression garment. You should remove it before going to bed and put it on again when you wake up in the morning.
If you sleep on your side, however, it is highly recommended that you wear a compression garment at night as well because this position will help with reducing swelling and discomfort while sleeping.
Compression garments have different levels of pressure.
Compression garments come in many different styles and sizes. The higher the compression, the more pressure there is on your body. The lower the compression, the less pressure there is on your body. Your doctor will prescribe a garment that provides enough support for you to feel comfortable and not too tight on your skin.
Patients should not exercise during the early stage of recovery.
- Exercise can increase swelling, bruising, and bleeding. When you exercise during the early stages of recovery, you’ll be putting extra pressure on your incisions and muscles. This can increase swelling and possibly cause pain.
- Patients should not exercise during the first 2 weeks after liposuction surgery to prevent excessive swelling and bruising as well as pain in their new contour areas.
While wearing a compression garment is important, it’s important not to wear it too long in the beginning stages of recovery.
The first few days of wearing a compression garment can be uncomfortable and restrictive. The garment may limit your ability to perform daily tasks, such as cleaning or cooking. Compression garments can also cause pain and irritation to the skin in some cases, as well as rashes, blisters and bruises if you wear them too tight or too long during recovery.
It’s best not to wear your compression garments for more than eight hours per day in the beginning stages of recovery.
how to wear compression garment after liposuction
Liposuction patients who closely follow the aftercare instructions following their procedure typically experience the fewest issues during their recovery and are generally the happiest with their liposuction results. Often, one of the most important post-lipo instructions given by physicians is the requirement to wear compression garments over the first couple of weeks following surgery.
But what are compression garments, how do you wear them, and for how long do you wear them? In this post we’ll discuss the ins and outs of compression garments and explain why they are vital to successful liposuction recovery and results.
The Importance of Compression Garments
Medical compression garments are much more than Spanx or the tight socks worn by marathon runners. This high-tech, advanced recovery wear is specifically designed to help you heal faster and achieve the best possible liposuction results. Proper use of compression garments after your liposuction surgery may be the most effective thing you can do to enhance your new body contour.
Not wearing compression garments leaves you vulnerable to enhanced swelling and bruising, lax skin and a wrinkled or dimpled appearance.
What Are Compression Garments?
Medical compression garments are made from strong, yet flexible, synthetic fabrics such as lycra or nylon. They are constructed in a manner that allows for graduated, multi-directional stretch, while maintaining pressure throughout the treatment area.
Compression garments come in a variety of sizes to accommodate differently sized bodies and various body parts. Depending on your liposuction procedure, you may be sent home with one or more compression garments for the abdomen, breasts, legs or arms, and neck or chin.
A proper fit will feel snug, but never painful. Your doctor may order you several sizes, to adjust pressure over time as your swelling goes down.
How Do Compression Garments Help Liposuction Recovery?
Compression garments not only make recovery more comfortable, but they reduce swelling and bruising for faster healing. Importantly, they improve the outcome of your liposuction procedure by helping the body adhere to its new contour.
The proper use of compression garments during lipo recover can:
After your liposuction surgery, your body will produce fluids that can build up and become stagnant, causing uncomfortable swelling. By applying even, consistent pressure in the area of your procedure compression garments prevent fluid from accumulating for a decrease in swelling.
Liposuction incurs trauma to the blood vessels just underneath your skin, which results in bruising as blood rises to the skin’s surface. Compression garments diminish the appearance of bruises by keeping blood away from the surface of the skin.
Scarring from liposuction is typically minimal since incisions are small and well hidden. However, compression garments help further reduce scarring by maintaining pressure on the incision site for flatter, smoother skin.
During liposuction, fat is removed from below the skin and above the muscle, creating a space where fluids can build up and pool. Fluid accumulation in this area which causes lumps is referred to as edema. Compression garments minimize this space by pressurizing the skin against muscle, minimizing potential fluid accumulation.
Minimize Pain or Discomfort
Many patients say compression garments help them feel more secure after their surgery, and make movement easier during the early recovery period. Compression garments have the ability to decrease pain, improve posture, and increase mindful care of the area impacted by your liposuction procedure.
If your compression garments are causing pain versus providing relief, see your doctor for a better fitting garment.
While it may not feel glamorous to wear compression garments, they will indeed enhance your final results. The supportive compression prevents skin from getting lax or wrinkled and assists in skin retraction for an improved, tighter contour.
How Long Must Compression Garments Be Worn?
Immediately after your liposuction procedure, your doctor will fit you with the necessary compression garments. Expect to wear these garments 24/7 for the first 6 weeks, removing them only for bathing or washing.
After the first three weeks, your doctor will assess your level of swelling and the speed of your recovery. You may be asked to switch to a smaller garment to accommodate reduced swelling.
Compression garments are typically worn for a total of 6 weeks. How long you must wear yours will depend on the specifics of your liposuction procedure, how much fat was removed, and the unique pace of your healing.
How Should Compression Garments Fit?
A proper fit is a snug fit. Your compression garments should not be too tight, nor too bulky. Although you may experience some initial discomfort while you get used to the compression, you should not feel excessive pain or restriction.
As your swelling reduces, your compression garments will fit differently. To maintain their effectiveness, it is important you adjust your garments as needed throughout the recovery process.
What Happens If You Do Not Wear Compression Garments?
When compression garments are properly fitted the benefits far outweigh the risks. Not wearing compression garments at all can prolong your recovery, make the healing process more painful, and may lead to results that are less than ideal.
Compression garments contribute greatly to skin tightness and a smooth body contour after liposuction. For best results, keep them on for as long as your doctor recommends.
Kristy L. Hamilton, M.D. is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Houston, Texas. Dr. Hamilton offers the full range of bespoke aesthetic plastic surgery including rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, facelifts and facial rejuvenation, fat transfer, chin surgery, breast augmentation and lifts, body contouring and liposuction, as well as reconstructive facial and breast surgery. She understands each patient’s individual needs and applies her surgical skill with meticulous detail to create a natural and beautiful result.
how to wash compression garment after liposuction
Compression garments like socks, pantyhose, and sleeves have long been prescribed by the medical community to aid people with poor circulation. The compression pieces act as a second layer of skin that provides the resistance the weakened skin no longer can. The pieces can be found in drug stores or medical equipment stores with varying degrees of compression. The higher degrees of compression often require a doctor’s prescription.
These compression garments are often prescribed after surgery to support muscles and increase circulation. Travelers have long worn compression hosiery to help prevent deep vein thrombosis and reduce swelling.
Now compression garments have made their way into the world of sports from football to baseball to cheer. Many athletes and trainers claim that they help improve performance. While some of the findings have been debated, almost all trainers agree that compression garments can help muscles heal after strenuous exercise by improving flexion and extension. As for recovery, the evidence is somewhat more in favor of compression. Australian researchers put rugby players in waist-to-ankle tights during active recovery runs on a treadmill (cool-down period) discovered that compression helped remove lactate from their blood. Lactate is the byproduct that causes your muscles to burn during intense exercise.
One of the main benefits of compression sportswear is that it keeps the muscles warm to prevent muscle strain and fatigue and wick sweat away from the body to prevent chafing and rashes. All of the garments have some form of spandex woven with other fibers to provide the stretch. You can find sports compression shirts, shorts, and tights.
Care
Whether you are wearing the compression pieces for medical reasons or to enhance your athletic ability, they need proper care to be effective and to last as long as possible. None of the pieces are inexpensive.
Even the strongest compression garments made of durable materials will begin to stretch out after about twelve hours of constant wear as may be required medically. This is especially true in knee and elbow areas where the garments are constantly stretched. Daily washing or after every wearing will help restore and retain elastic properties as well as remove perspiration, oils, dirt, bacteria, and dead skin that accumulate inside the garment. Frequent washing will not harm the garments if done properly.
Machine or Hand-Wash
Compression garments may be machine or hand-washed, depending on the preference of the user. If using the washer, place the garments in a mesh lingerie bag to prevent snagging and to keep smaller items from being lost. Always use the gentle cycle and never use hot water. The water temperature should be cool for dark colored garments or warm for light-colored items. It is best to have two sets of compression garments so that the fibers have time to relax and regain their shape before the next wearing. They will last longer.
If hand washing the compression pieces, again use cool water when washing and rinsing. Do not over agitate or stretch the pieces and never wring. Squeeze out excess water and roll the garment in a dry towel to remove as much water as possible.
Detergents
Harsh detergent can destroy the thin fibers of compression garments. Mild soaps or detergents should be used, free of bleach, chlorine, fabric softeners or other laundry additives. Never use chlorine bleach on spandex as the fibers will be destroyed.
Drying
Compression pieces and clothes should always be air-dried. Excessive heat exposure may weaken or even damage the elastic fibers of the garments. Whether garments are hung or laid flat to dry, exposure to direct sunlight or direct heat sources like a radiator should be avoided and the garment should be turned inside out. It is recommended to place a towel on a drying rack and lay the garment on top to dry. Hanging the garment directly on a rack or pole to drip dry can allow the weight of the water to stretch the item causing it to fit improperly.
Lifespan
The elastic fibers of a compression garment will break down with wear. While proper care will increase the lifespan of garments, they will need to replaced about every six months if used daily. If the garment no longer returns to its original shape after washing, has runs or holes in the material, no longer feels tight or compressive or if the garment becomes easy to put on, it should be replaced.
What to Avoid
Even though spandex or Lycra or elastane are quite durable fibers, chlorine and sweat can speed their deterioration. Creams, lotions, and oils can also weaken the fibers and should not be used when wearing compression garments. Apply these only when there is time for them to dry completely before putting on the compression pieces.
sleeping without compression garment after lipo
Wearing a compression garment after your surgery is one of the best ways to ensure you get the results you want. It can be difficult to understand the how and why, however, when your plastic surgeon recommends it. Although Dr. Howland can answer your questions ahead of your surgical procedure, it can be helpful to know what to expect. Here’s what to know about compression garments and how they can help.
How tight should compression garments be?
The purpose of a compression garment is to support the surgical site, the incisions, and the affected skin. If your compression garment is too tight, it will affect circulation and hinder healing. A compression garment should only exert gentle, supportive pressure, so it should lay flat and smooth on the skin. As a general rule, the correct tightness for your compression garment leaves space to slide a hand under without difficulty.
What if compression garments cause pain?
Post-surgery garments should support without causing pain. If your compression garment causes discomfort, make sure to meet with your plastic surgeon promptly. Poor-quality support garments are more likely to be ill-fitting or made from cheaper materials, causing problems. Your plastic surgeon can make sure you’re properly fitted for a quality compression garment that fits your needs.
Should I wear my compression garment throughout recovery?
Dr. Howland recommends wearing compression garments as much as possible for the first 2 weeks after surgery. After this time, you may begin to wear the garment for half-day only, and this is recommended for 4 weeks. There are typically two stages of compression garments. The first stage is provided for you with your cost of surgery and placed in the operating room or at your follow-up visit. This usually has zippers and snaps and is easy to get in and out of during the first 2 weeks of recovery. After drains have been removed and your body is better healed, you will be asked to transition to a second-stage garment (sometimes called a “faja”) for 4 weeks. These garments have less seams and areas that can cause asymmetry in your skin. They are also more difficult to get in and out of but will better shape your body and final results.
Do I have to wear a compression garment?
Yes. Wearing a compression garment is the best way to ensure you get your intended results and also prevent critical complications like fluid buildup or inflammation. You’ll be able to take off your compression garment for short periods of time like while bathing, but you should wear it according to Dr. Howland’s instructions. If you dislike your compression garment because it’s ill-fitting or causes discomfort, make sure to see Dr. Howland as soon as possible.
Do I wear my compression garment while sleeping?
For the first 2 weeks, you should absolutely wear the garment while sleeping. After this, Dr. Howland will allow you to wear the garment either during the day or at night. Most patients actually prefer sleeping in their compression garments since it can be comforting.
How long should I wear my compression garment after surgery?
Dr. Howland’s recommendation for most patients is 6 weeks: 2 weeks “around the clock” and then 4 weeks for half the day.