One of the frequent questions patients ask is...how much pain will I have after my body contouring surgery? How much and how long will I hurt? What can I take for the pain? These are, understandably, on the top of many patients concerns.
While most surgeries involve pain, and body contouring surgery is no exception, it is often less than you think and very tolerable for most patients. I frequently hear patients say...'that was much less painful than I thought'. Why is that? There are several reasons. First, really significant surgical pain comes from muscle or bone surgery or entering the body's cavities, such as the abdomen. Body contouring surgery involves none of that. The removing of skin and fat, while dramatic and often in large pieces, does not involve tissues that have as much pain as structures that lie deeper. Secondly, skin that is cut and moved often goes numb as the tiny nerves that supply feeling to the skin are cut in the process. As a result, the skin nearest the incision line loses feeling for a period of time. As you move further away from the incision, one starts to have feeling again.
Some body contouring procedures cause more pain than others. The most uncomfortable would be those that involve surgery around the abdomen such as the tummy tuck or body lift. Because the long incisions are around an area that moves and twists, common and frequent movements such as getting out of bed or a chair, can be uncomfortable for a while. Other procedures such as arm lifts or breasts lifts cause virtually no pain at all. The discomfort from a thigh lift is somewhere between the tummy tuck and the arm lift.
Beyond the recovery room after your surgery, pain medications by mouth should suffice. I mainly prescribe oral narcotics such as Percocet or Vicodin. Depending upon the procedure(s), narcotic pain medications are usually taken for a week or so after surgery. Thereafter, the use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as Motrin, Advil or Aleve can help one wean themselves off of narcotics. It would not be rare to have to take something, particularly at nighttime for up to a month after the surgery.
Dr Barry Eppley is a board-certified plastic surgeon in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana at Clarian Health Systems. (http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com) He writes a daily blog on plastic surgery, spa therapies, and medical skin care at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com |
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