Recovery After Smartlipo

Smartlipo is an excellent choice for individuals who have a busy life and don’t want a painful recovery or a lot of downtime. Traditional and tumescent liposuction involves a longer recovery process than Smartlipo. Smartlipo recovery is often remarkably quick and not especially painful. Patients often return to work within a day or two, and in some cases, immediately following the procedure. Doctors recommend that patients start doing light activities and perhaps low-impact aerobic exercise the day following their procedure. After the first week, most patients have no limitations on their activities and their lives can return to their original pace.

Lower Recovery Time

Smartlipo has a number of benefits but one of the most salient is the fact that recovery takes less time than recovery from other, more traditional liposuction techniques. The reason why Smartlipo decreases recovery time is because the laser used in the procedure actually causes the blood in the vessels in the target area to coagulate. This diminishes bruising and swelling, making the recovery period substantially less uncomfortable and unsightly. Additionally, nerve fibers are less likely to be disrupted when fat is melted than when it is dislodged from the body using traditional liposuction procedures. Leaving more nerve fibers intact and undisturbed means less pain during recovery, a big plus for patients.

Smartlipo requires smaller incisions, which diminishes the invasiveness of the surgery in comparison with traditional liposuction treatments. The reason why incisions can be smaller is because the tube (known as a cannula) used to suction fat out of the body can be smaller than what’s used for tumescent or traditional liposuction. Basically, melted fat can easily travel through a smaller cannula, and therefore smaller incisions than fat that leaves the body in chunks. Having smaller incisions means that the risk of infection is somewhat diminished and your body will be able to heal that much faster as a result.

The Recovery Process

As soon as your doctor completes the process of suctioning melted fat out of the target areas on your body, you’ll be moved to the recovery room to begin the first stages of the recovery process. The local anesthetic will begin to wear off and tactile sensations will return to the areas that were treated with Smartlipo. Within about an hour, you will probably be able to go home or return to work, depending on the extent of your Smartlipo treatment and how strenuous your job is.

It is likely that your doctor will offer you compression bandages, an important element in a successful recovery after Smartlipo. Compression bandages will help to prevent the development of dangerous blood clots, while encouraging your skin to stay in place while your body heals. You may also be prescribed pain medications and in some cases antibiotics to prevent infection.

Your incisions will be bandaged and it is important that you provide them with the necessary care and attention that they need. Preventing infection is absolutely imperative if you want the good results from your Smartlipo. Smartlipo recovery does require some extra vigilance and patients do report some discomfort during the recovery process from time to time. Drinking alcohol and smoking will be prohibited for a period of time while your body completes the healing process. Your doctor may make other recommendations based on your lifestyle to help reduce the risks and side effects associated with Smartlipo recovery.

With traditional liposuction procedures, many patients would experience much longer recovery periods of weeks or sometimes even months. Bruising and swelling were common and considered normal. Pain from these procedures was between moderate to extreme. Smartlipo recovery, however, is a much more comfortable process that requires considerably less downtime and less pain allowing patients to go back to their normal work and social routine within about 24 to 48 hours. Bruising, redness, and numbness from Smartlipo will normally disappear within the first week after surgery.

Most doctors will recommend that you do some light exercise during recovery after Smartlipo to enhance circulation to the treated area. Your doctor will schedule follow-up appointments to evaluate your Smartlipo recovery and make recommendations about your activity level after that. During follow-up appointments, your doctor will examine your incisions and take a look at the treated areas on your body to make sure that the healing process is progressing smoothly.