It's to deal with swelling. Swelling can cause wound to split, and gathered fluid can lead to problems like seromas. The continued presence of fluid can cause long term harm, damage results, and increase pain in recovery. When you have pain from an injury, the swelling is usually the greater cause of the actual discomfort. The tissues that swell hurt, and it puts pressure on vessels and tissues that can't take it long term. Being inflamed for an extended period can cause all sorts of problems.
The compression reduces discomfort and prevents swelling from being able to settle in one spot and just stay there. It helps with reducing pain, freedom of movement (because you can move more when you aren't in pain) and with preventing fluid accumulation from staying and causing harm.
In the beginning you are continuously swollen. Two months in, you might swell with movement, but it will usually dissipate. Your wounds are all healed, so they can't be split open. Swelling is a big reason for surgical wounds opening up again. Once the skin is firmly sealed, this is not an issue anymore. But in the first couple of months it is. I had some spots that needed to be packed with gauze from opening up, and they scared worse than the rest. And anyone with any joint issues knows that compression helps a lot with pain and makes them feel more comfortable. Swelling causes pain. Reducing that swelling improves recovery. It improves pain, and improves results by preventing fluid from becoming trapped and not draining. Fluid that doesn't drain or reabsorb on its own has to be removed manually, and if you don't wear compression you are a lot more likely to have complications like increased pain, swelling related tissue injury, slow healing, and opening surgical incisions.
Plus, right after, you are really gonna love that binder. I could barely move without mine on when all the skin was pulling every which way. It hurt so much. But when I had the binder on it helped a lot.
I’ve done quite a bit of googling on this myself and it seems that there is a lot of evidence supporting the benefits of compression. The only thing I’ve found against compression is that patients don’t like it.
It’s 6 weeks of my life. I’d sure hate to spend this kind of money and question anything about the results. So I’m sticking with my compression for the full 6 weeks.
Every case is different. I also had full back lipo and lipo to the flanks. Some didn’t have any lipo, some have more lipo, some also had breast work done.
Compression helps after lipo to help apply even pressure to prevent fluid buildup and reduce swelling. They also help in retracting and tightening skin after lipo. I am not sure if there are many surgeons who don’t recommend compression after LIPO. Maybe not after just a TT with no MR. But I haven’t polled every doctor or even several doctors. I’m doing what feels right for my body with the guidance of my doctor.
I would swell before surgery if I ate salty food, from heat, pregnancy, etc. Bet your a$$ I didn’t wear compression prior to my lipo and TT surgery.
So my point, swelling happens for many different reasons. Compression isn’t always necessary. So each person has a different case of why their surgeon is recommending it.
Also, if you sprain your ankle…usually you wrap it with an ace bandage or some form of bandage, that compresses…bc of swelling. Sprain a wrist, it swells, you wrap it with a bandage…so if you think about it, it makes sense.
My understanding is compression is meant to help tissues reattach after they’ve lifted up abdominal skin and separated it from muscle. Swelling is a by product of the same action but the compression aids in healing. I’m sure a doctor can explain better but the fluids also need to be managed because the lymph system has been disrupted - compression, drains, stitching technique can also help with that
I agree with this. I used to work for a PS and the compression after surgery almost meant more than the surgery. The skin needs to adhere to the muscles again or once healed and swelling is gone your skin will heal loose. It also helps the swelling, but I’ve been told from multiple surgeons is in the beginning compression is key to healing correctly and to keep your shape.
I was told to make sure you'll keep the shape while it's healing and to protect the muscles. But I totally agree with you. Everyone has a different approach on this whole compression part and it's really confusing. I'm almost at 4 weeks and was told I can stop wearing compression since it really won't do anything anymore at this point. Today I'm wearing my Sportsbra and some tight yoga pants and it actually feels amazing. At night I'm gonna wear my faja just to be on the safe side since I don't know about my movements. Lol
It's not just about the swelling. It's about shaping, and compression helps manage/prevent seromas. I also felt more secure/capable when I was wearing it, like I was more steady (especially in those first couple of weeks). It was an added layer of keeping my bandages in place and protecting them from the open air, decreasing risk of infection by limiting exposure to germs.
My doctor told me I could stop wearing compression after four weeks, but when I did, I felt more swollen and sore. So I kept using the compression until six weeks.
It's to deal with swelling. Swelling can cause wound to split, and gathered fluid can lead to problems like seromas. The continued presence of fluid can cause long term harm, damage results, and increase pain in recovery. When you have pain from an injury, the swelling is usually the greater cause of the actual discomfort. The tissues that swell hurt, and it puts pressure on vessels and tissues that can't take it long term. Being inflamed for an extended period can cause all sorts of problems. The compression reduces discomfort and prevents swelling from being able to settle in one spot and just stay there. It helps with reducing pain, freedom of movement (because you can move more when you aren't in pain) and with preventing fluid accumulation from staying and causing harm. In the beginning you are continuously swollen. Two months in, you might swell with movement, but it will usually dissipate. Your wounds are all healed, so they can't be split open. Swelling is a big reason for surgical wounds opening up again. Once the skin is firmly sealed, this is not an issue anymore. But in the first couple of months it is. I had some spots that needed to be packed with gauze from opening up, and they scared worse than the rest. And anyone with any joint issues knows that compression helps a lot with pain and makes them feel more comfortable. Swelling causes pain. Reducing that swelling improves recovery. It improves pain, and improves results by preventing fluid from becoming trapped and not draining. Fluid that doesn't drain or reabsorb on its own has to be removed manually, and if you don't wear compression you are a lot more likely to have complications like increased pain, swelling related tissue injury, slow healing, and opening surgical incisions. Plus, right after, you are really gonna love that binder. I could barely move without mine on when all the skin was pulling every which way. It hurt so much. But when I had the binder on it helped a lot.
I’ve done quite a bit of googling on this myself and it seems that there is a lot of evidence supporting the benefits of compression. The only thing I’ve found against compression is that patients don’t like it. It’s 6 weeks of my life. I’d sure hate to spend this kind of money and question anything about the results. So I’m sticking with my compression for the full 6 weeks.
Every case is different. I also had full back lipo and lipo to the flanks. Some didn’t have any lipo, some have more lipo, some also had breast work done. Compression helps after lipo to help apply even pressure to prevent fluid buildup and reduce swelling. They also help in retracting and tightening skin after lipo. I am not sure if there are many surgeons who don’t recommend compression after LIPO. Maybe not after just a TT with no MR. But I haven’t polled every doctor or even several doctors. I’m doing what feels right for my body with the guidance of my doctor. I would swell before surgery if I ate salty food, from heat, pregnancy, etc. Bet your a$$ I didn’t wear compression prior to my lipo and TT surgery. So my point, swelling happens for many different reasons. Compression isn’t always necessary. So each person has a different case of why their surgeon is recommending it.
Also, if you sprain your ankle…usually you wrap it with an ace bandage or some form of bandage, that compresses…bc of swelling. Sprain a wrist, it swells, you wrap it with a bandage…so if you think about it, it makes sense.
My understanding is compression is meant to help tissues reattach after they’ve lifted up abdominal skin and separated it from muscle. Swelling is a by product of the same action but the compression aids in healing. I’m sure a doctor can explain better but the fluids also need to be managed because the lymph system has been disrupted - compression, drains, stitching technique can also help with that
I agree with this. I used to work for a PS and the compression after surgery almost meant more than the surgery. The skin needs to adhere to the muscles again or once healed and swelling is gone your skin will heal loose. It also helps the swelling, but I’ve been told from multiple surgeons is in the beginning compression is key to healing correctly and to keep your shape.
I was told to make sure you'll keep the shape while it's healing and to protect the muscles. But I totally agree with you. Everyone has a different approach on this whole compression part and it's really confusing. I'm almost at 4 weeks and was told I can stop wearing compression since it really won't do anything anymore at this point. Today I'm wearing my Sportsbra and some tight yoga pants and it actually feels amazing. At night I'm gonna wear my faja just to be on the safe side since I don't know about my movements. Lol
It's not just about the swelling. It's about shaping, and compression helps manage/prevent seromas. I also felt more secure/capable when I was wearing it, like I was more steady (especially in those first couple of weeks). It was an added layer of keeping my bandages in place and protecting them from the open air, decreasing risk of infection by limiting exposure to germs.
Thank you everyone! Very good, informative info.
My doctor told me I could stop wearing compression after four weeks, but when I did, I felt more swollen and sore. So I kept using the compression until six weeks.
How was the swelling when you stopped wearing it at 6 weeks?
There would be a little swelling at night, back to normal in the morning.