Swelling after plastic surgery - how severe?

[SkinnyKathy 99]

I was pretty well prepared for my panniculectomy and everything has gone smoothly. But one thing that I am still surprised at, a little over 3 weeks post surgery, is the amount of swelling I still have. I feel bloated all over and lately the scale shows me gaining weight even though I have had a re-fill on my lap band weeks ago and I have continued to eat pretty well (with a few exceptions here and there). I am certainly not pigging out which the scale would suggest. So I think it is swelling. Ladies (and gents, too) who have had plastic surgery, what has been your experiece with swelling after plastic surgery? When did it peak? When did it subside? Do you have any idea how many pounds of swelling you had?

[SkinnyKathy 99]

One other factor that I think might be making my swelling worse than normal. My drain on the right side fell out after only a week, and the doctor removed my drain on the left side after a little more than 2 weeks because of a business trip I had to go on. I was still draining a moderate amount of Fluid every day (100 cc or more) in the remaining drain when it was removed. And it has been since my drain was removed that my weight has started going back up, not down.

I am doing a pretty good job about remaining cool about it. I know the thing that matters is that I am continuing to eat right, and hopefully I am losing fat even if I am gaining weight. And it will come back down eventually. In the mean time I am trying to watch my sodium intake. I need to be more vigilant about getting enough fluids to drink, though. Since the weather started cooling down I haven't been as conscious of my Fluid intake as I was over the summer.

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi Kathy:

My swelling wasn't too bad. One of my drains fell out on its own too early and that is the side that I had more swelling on. I think it was alot worse when I was more active than I should have been. Remember, it was a big surgery and your body needs to rest and heal. I was vigilant about wearing my compression garments the first two months, but didn't wear it after that. I still have some swelling after a long day, but I don't have many of those.

Crazy how drinking alot of fluids helps us not retain fluids, but that's how I hear it works. So, try to increase your Fluid intake for a while and see if that helps.

I wish you well with your recovery.

Sue

[Dr.JLo 1]

Here's a link about swelling:

Swell Hell...what is normal ?, Message Boards, Cosmetic Surgery Message Boards, Forums, Skin Care, Chats

[wish412 0]

This is just a thought, but after my Tummy Tuck, when the drains were removed, I too continued to swell, and actually developed a rather uncomfortable pocket of Fluid below my belly button. My surgeon took a huge needle(looked like a turkey baister to me), and drew the fluid out. It was a LOT!! After that, no more swelling,pressure, and the recovery finally moved right along. That was at about three weeks out,,so you might have them check you for a fluid pocket...Again,,just a thought,,,,,,

[SkinnyKathy 99]

Yep, that's what it was. A seroma, a pocket of Fluid. Except in my case it was more like a lake. I went back to my doctor on Monday and he pulled out 16 syringes of fluid (2 ounces each). That's a QUART! (He says the biggest seroma he had before me was not quite 3 syringes of fluid). And he stopped at 16 kind of arbitrarily because he didn't want to upset my electrolyte balance by taking out too much fluid at once. So I came back on Wednesday and he took out another 12 syringes. And I am going back today and probably at least once next week. I am also on a diauretic and antibiotics. But it makes a huge difference and I look and feel so much better. Also, my weight had been on the way up due to the swelling, I had gained 8 pounds from my lowest! Now almost all of those 8 pounds are off. Fortunately I didn't freak out too much because I knew it wasn't fat gain, it couldn't be because I have been on the tight-ish side with my band and couldn't possibly eat enough to gain weight right now (unless I ate bad foods, which fortunately I am good at staying away from)

[Mimilou2004 13]

Hang in there, Kathy. I am glad your doc is watching out for your electrolyte balance.

Mimi

[general_antiope 189]

WOW 16 syringes of fluid! lol, that qualifies as a lake. What a relief it must have been for you :confused: I guess those drains have a job to do. Was it on the side where the drain fell out?

Glad you got it checked out. Thanks for sharing with us!

[SkinnyKathy 99]

There was more swelling on the side where the drain fell out, but it is clear that there is/was swelling on both sides....

... Well the saga continues... I went back to the doctor today and he took 8 more syringes of Fluid out of me, until he couldn't get any more, but it was clear that there was still Fluid in there. He thinks there may be multiple pockets, and he is not able to fully drain me without any visual indicator of where the fluid is.

So long story short, I am going back to the hospital on Friday, and will go under fluorosocopy (like x-ray) so they will be able to visualize the fluid, suck me dry, and then put in a new drain that is able to drain any future accumulation from any and all fluid pockets.

The other thing my doctor asked me is about my Protein intake. Now normally I am very good about that because I eat a Protein shake for Breakfast every day. But lately I ran out of my favorite Protein powder (which I order online from vitalady) and so I had been getting sloppy about Protein intake. He says that even if you are feeling fine on an overall level, the cells may be struggling to rebuild without sufficient protein. So I wonder if that has contributed to my problem. Anyway, I have bought some Protein Powder from a local retail store and will order my favorite today so it should arrive soon.

Anyway, that's the latest.

[Shalee04 7]

There was more swelling on the side where the drain fell out, but it is clear that there is/was swelling on both sides....

... Well the saga continues... I went back to the doctor today and he took 8 more syringes of Fluid out of me, until he couldn't get any more, but it was clear that there was still Fluid in there. He thinks there may be multiple pockets, and he is not able to fully drain me without any visual indicator of where the fluid is.

So long story short, I am going back to the hospital on Friday, and will go under fluorosocopy (like x-ray) so they will be able to visualize the fluid, suck me dry, and then put in a new drain that is able to drain any future accumulation from any and all fluid pockets.

The other thing my doctor asked me is about my Protein intake. Now normally I am very good about that because I eat a Protein shake for Breakfast every day. But lately I ran out of my favorite protein powder (which I order online from vitalady) and so I had been getting sloppy about protein intake. He says that even if you are feeling fine on an overall level, the cells may be struggling to rebuild without sufficient protein. So I wonder if that has contributed to my problem. Anyway, I have bought some protein powder from a local retail store and will order my favorite today so it should arrive soon.

Sorry about all your swelling issues Kathy, hang in there IT DOES get better I promise!!!

About upping your protein, have you tried the Protein bullets? They are 42-45 grams of protein in each small shot, maybe 3-4 ounces of liquid. They come in different fruity flavors and I got mine at GNC or the local DS nutrician store here in town. I lived on them for 2 weeks after my plastic surgery last year, and continued to take them at least 1 a day for the next 4 months to help me with keeping my protein up.

Good luck,

Kelly

[SkinnyKathy 99]

Yes, I have tried Protein bullets a few times, but the ones I tried tasted nasty and were really hard for me to get down. I prefer the milkshake-y type Protein drinks, although I am picky about the brand. I just choked down a Protein shake with a non-preferred Protein powder, and I would almost prefer a really nasty Protein bullet, at least I could get that down more quickly, LOL! But I love my Champion Nutrition Pro-Score 100 chocolate flavor, yummy!

Do you have any brands of protein bullet that you would recommend?

Kathy

[Mimilou2004 13]

Kathy, I am sorry about all this Fluid build up, that stinks. If you dilute the Protein bullets with crystal light of the same flavor they are not as bad. I had forgotten about them but now that you reminded me of them I will buy some before my Jan 10 PS. I will think positive thoughts for your upcoming Xray and drain procedure.

Mimi

[Dr.JLo 1]

Swelling can persist for a long time after surgery, and individuals vary highly in the amount of swelling they develop. A good compression agrment, avoidance of triggers,a nd lymphatic massage all help control swelling.

A seroma, or a pocket of Fluid, is a relatively common event separate from swelling. They occur after removal of large amounts of skin.

I keep a simple ultrasound system in my office and therfore detect and drain these pockets early on when they are small...if they get too big it's a problem.

Persistent pockets may require replacement of a drain, although this is usually not needed with early detection and intervention in my experience.

[SkinnyKathy 99]

Dr. JLo, can you tell me more about lymphatic massage? I am the original poster on this thread. I had a panniculectomy on October 8, and here it is almost 3 months later, and I am still dealing with quite a lot of swelling, especially on the side where my original drain fell out soon after surgery. I have been trying to keep my sodium intake down, although I have been getting lazy about wearing a compression garment (Spanx one size too small) every day, so maybe I should get more serious about that. I had to have a drain put back in me one month after surgery and they took about a liter of Fluid out of me and then I drained some more over the next few days but this drain, too, fell out sooner than we had hoped. My doctor doesn't think I have any more seromas but rather just very swollen tissues. I have also taken a lot of antibiotics, but the healing is quite slow. I have not heard about lymphatic massage before and I wondered if that is something that one can do at home or do you need to see some kind of professional to do that? Thanks in advance for any advice. Kathy

[Dr.JLo 1]

Hi Kathy. Well, the first thing is to be sure you have no pocket of Fluid leftover or an area where the skin did not stick down to the muscles (a Fluid pocket can cause this).

You may need an ultrasound or CT scan to clear up this issue. I say so only because you report one-sided swelling in an area where your tube came out prematurely.

Absent anything on your scan, lymphatic massage may help. Try online..there are several sources for this. Your local hospital may have a lymphedema center, and they may know a therapist.

Also try:

ACOLS Find A Therapist

I include them in all my surgery packages and am lucky to have a therapist employed by the hospital, who is just great.