Tummy Tuck Compression Garments

One of the little known aspects of the tummy tuck recovery is the need to wear a tummy tuck compression garment.   You have read that correctly, you will be required to wear a special kind of compression garment after your tummy tuck.

At this point, you are probably wondering why you would have to wear one.  The simple answer is that the compression garment is used to control the post operative swelling and help with the healing process.

At this point a note about compression garments are in order; the faster your body heals from the surgery, the less noticeable the scarring will be.  Therefore, if you prolong your healing by not properly using the compression garments, you are increasing the likelihood that the scarring will be more apparent.

The garment itself is designed to provide support to your abdominal area.  After the surgery, it is imperative that you use one to the decrease movement in the abdominal area.  By limiting movement, you actually decrease the amount of bruising and swelling that you will encounter.

Another benefit of using this garment is that it improves blood circulation, while helping the body rid itself of toxic fluids (such as anesthesia).  Additionally, these garments also help your skin grow accustomed to its new form.

Compression garments are designed to be worn underneath your clothes, so they are very comfortable.  Often, others will not even know that you are wearing them.  As a note of caution, do not wear your tummy tuck compression garment to bed.

Because some of us are trying to save money nowadays, it is very important to stress that a compression garment is a medical item.  While you may be able to save some money by buying non medical grade compression garments, you are doing yourself a disservice by doing so.

Compression garments are designed to provide the correct amount of pressure to the correct areas of the body.  When you buy non medical grade garments, there are usually numerous problems with them.  First, they often don’t provide the right amount of support.  Second, they may not provide support in the areas that need support.  Third, as you continue to wear these types of garments (sometimes up to 8 weeks), they tend to lose the amount of compression they can provide.

The fact is that by trying to go cheap on the compression garment, you are only increasing the amount of swelling, bruising, and discomfort you will encounter.  Therefore, you really do need to answer the question, “It is worth having a slower healing process just to save a few dollars?”  Obviously, we do not think so.

Since compression garments are so useful, we have found that this is the best video that details the benefits of compression garments.  While the speaker discusses compression garments in the context of someone who has undergone liposuction, the same principles apply to someone having a tummy tuck.