In hospital
You wake with dressings, a support garment and sometimes drains. Getting up to walk, with help, happens early, often the same day or the next, to lower the risk of clots. You'll need an adult to drive you home and stay with you for the first 24 hours.
Week 1
Walk bent slightly forward: it feels like the tummy is being pulled, and it eases. Sleep on your back with pillows under your knees. Short walks around the house every few hours. Someone else does the lifting, the shopping and the children.
Weeks 2 to 3
Standing straighter each day. A wound check, and drains out if you have them. Many people with desk jobs who work from home start light work around now, if their surgeon agrees.
Weeks 4 to 6
Most people go back to work at four to six weeks. The garment comes off at about six weeks. Light exercise returns slowly; nothing that strains the tummy until your surgeon says.
Three months and beyond
Swelling settles over months. Numbness of the lower tummy can last months or longer. The scar is red and may be raised, then fades over 12 to 18 months.
Driving and flying
Not for several weeks: you need to brake hard without pain and be off drowsy painkillers, and your insurer may have rules. The UK's NHS advises not flying for seven to ten days after a tummy tuck; the HSE's advice for long trips (loose clothes, walking, compression stockings, calf exercises) applies.
Ring the clinic, or 112, if
- the wound opens, leaks pus, or redness spreads
- you have a fever
- one calf is painful, swollen and warm: ask for an urgent GP appointment
- you have sudden breathlessness or chest pain: call 112 or 999
Questions people ask
How long is tummy tuck recovery?
About six weeks to be back to most things, with four to six weeks off work and exercise. The final look settles over months.
When can I lift my child?
Not for weeks. Ask your surgeon; many say around six.
Why do I have to sleep with my knees bent?
It takes the strain off the stitches while they heal.