Procedures
Recovery by procedure
Each procedure has its own rules. Pick yours for the key points patients most often ask about.
Brazilian butt lift (gluteal fat grafting)
Sitting
No direct sitting on the buttocks for about 6 weeks (some surgeons say up to 8). Use a BBL pillow under the thighs only when sitting is unavoidable, such as in a car.
Sleeping
On your stomach or side. Many patients use a body pillow or mattress topper to make stomach sleeping bearable.
Fat survival
Transferred fat needs a new blood supply. Pressure, smoking and poor nutrition all reduce how much survives.
Safety first
BBL has historically had one of the highest death rates in cosmetic surgery, mainly from fat embolism when fat enters the large veins of the buttock muscle. Florida now requires subcutaneous-only injection with ultrasound guidance — see Florida's BBL rules.
- Sudden breathlessness, confusion or chest pain in the hours or days after surgery is an emergency — call 911.
- Hard lumps can be fat necrosis or oil cysts; report them at follow-up.
- Lymphatic massage on the lipo areas (not aggressive work on grafted fat) is common — confirm with your surgeon.
Liposuction & lipo 360
Full lipo 360 recovery guide →
- Drainage: pink-tinged fluid leaking from the small port incisions for the first 24–72 hours is expected. Use pads and waterproof bed covers.
- Compression: the faja and foam boards are central to lipo recovery — wear them as instructed, often for 6–8 weeks.
- Fibrosis: firm, uneven areas can develop weeks later. Lymphatic massage and your surgeon's guidance help; don't let anyone aggressively "break up" tissue early.
- Seroma: a soft, sloshing pocket of fluid, often in the lower abdomen or back — call your surgeon; it may need draining.
- Volume matters: large-volume liposuction causes more fluid shifts and blood loss. Florida requires office registration above 1,000 cc of fat removed.
Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty)
Full tummy tuck recovery guide →
- Posture: walk slightly hunched and sleep bent at the waist with knees up for 1–2 weeks to protect the incision. Straighten gradually.
- Drains: common for 1–2 weeks. See drain care.
- Muscle repair: no lifting over about 10 lb and no core exercise until cleared (often 6 weeks or more).
- Belly button and incision: watch for darkening skin, opening edges or foul smell — call your surgeon.
- Nicotine sharply raises the risk of wound breakdown. Stay nicotine-free through healing.
Mommy makeover (combined procedures)
Full mommy makeover recovery guide →
Usually a tummy tuck plus breast surgery, often with liposuction. Combining procedures means longer anesthesia and a harder first week.
- Plan for full-time help for at least the first week — you won't be able to lift children.
- Blood-clot risk is higher with longer surgery; your surgeon may prescribe a blood thinner such as enoxaparin. See medications.
- Plan for a longer stay if traveling (often 10–14 days).
- Ask your surgeon how long the combined operation will take and whether staging it would be safer for you.
Breast augmentation, lift & reduction
Full breast surgery recovery guide →
- Wear the surgical bra as directed; no underwire until cleared.
- Sleep on your back, elevated, for the first few weeks.
- No lifting arms overhead or heavy lifting for about 2–4 weeks.
- Tightness and implants sitting high at first are normal — they "drop and fluff" over weeks to months.
- Call your surgeon for one breast becoming much larger, harder or more painful than the other (possible hematoma).
- Ask about long-term implant monitoring and keep your implant card.
Facelift, eyelid surgery & rhinoplasty
- Keep your head elevated, including while sleeping, for 1–2 weeks.
- Cold compresses (as directed) help with swelling and bruising in the first 48–72 hours.
- Rhinoplasty: no nose-blowing, glasses resting on the nose, or contact sports until cleared. The splint usually comes off around a week.
- Facelift: one-sided, rapidly increasing swelling or pain in the first 24 hours may be a hematoma — call immediately.
- Avoid sun on incisions; final results take months as swelling resolves.
Questions for your procedure consultation
Bring your priorities and ask the surgeon to explain the options for your own anatomy and health. Photos can help communicate preferences; they cannot promise the same result.
Breast augmentation, lift, reduction or implant removal
- How much of your practice involves the specific procedure I am considering?
- Which options address my goals, and what are their tradeoffs for scars, sensation, symmetry and future care?
- If implants are proposed, what follow-up, device information and potential future procedures should I plan for?
- Can you discuss healed results in patients with similar starting anatomy, with their permission?
- Which daily activities, work tasks and caregiving duties will need help, and for how long in my case?
Rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty
- How will you assess both appearance and breathing goals?
- What experience do you have with primary versus revision cases like mine?
- What are the proposed anesthesia and facility arrangements, and who provides anesthesia care?
- What are the limits of a computer simulation, and when will you assess healing and results?
- How will follow-up work if I travel, and how are revision concerns handled?
Facelift and eyelid surgery
- Which concerns can this procedure address, and which will remain?
- What alternatives, scars and recovery needs should I compare?
- What changes should prompt a call, and who can examine me urgently?
- When are follow-ups scheduled, and what support do you require after discharge?
Questions before paying a deposit
General education only. Sources include the American Society of Plastic Surgeons patient resources and Florida Statutes § 458.328. Your surgeon's instructions take priority.