Your Omaha Liposuction Recovery Guide: What Happens Week by Week

Liposuction can be an exciting step toward feeling more confident in your body—but recovery is just as important as the procedure itself. If you’re planning your liposuction in Omaha, knowing what to expect during the healing process can help you feel more prepared and at ease. At Imagen Body Sculpting & Cosmetic Center, we’ve guided thousands of patients through recovery and know how much support and reassurance makes a difference.

This week-by-week liposuction recovery guide is designed to help you understand what’s normal, what’s not, and when to reach out. Keep in mind that everyone’s journey is unique, but with over a decade of experience caring for Omaha liposuction patients, our team has developed a clear understanding of what most people can expect during recovery.

The First 24 Hours After Your Liposuction:

Compression and Drainage

DO NOT REMOVE your compression garment the first night. This means no shower. Because we do not use any drain tubes, you will have some leaking from your incision sites. This may be a lot or it may be minimal, but you should be prepared for a lot. Make sure you have some old towels and sheets so that you don’t ruin your nice ones. It’s also helpful to have incontinence pads (or puppy pads) to put on your furniture so you don’t stain it. The best way to protect your mattress is with a shower curtain liner. This can be placed under your sheet to keep any drainage from soaking into the mattress. Drainage is generally complete within the first 24 hours.

Activity

You want to make sure that you are up and moving about as soon as possible. We generally recommend that you “take a tour” of your house every couple of hours while you would normally be awake (ie, you don’t need to do it all night long). This physical activity helps to mobilize the fluid, encourage drainage and also helps to prevent blood clots.

Diet

You will want to eat something with protein (your body needs this to heal), but try to avoid foods with a lot of salt. Salt will encourage fluid retention and increase your swelling. It’s helpful to meal prep a few meals before your procedure so you don’t have to cook right after.

Discomfort

You will have discomfort. This is normal and expected. Usually the discomfort is worse when you are changing positions (lying to sitting to standing to lying again) but better once you get settled. If you have pain that you think is abnormal, you should definitely reach out to your surgeon. You will be provided with pain medication to take for the first couple of days after your surgery, but generally after the 3rd day it is ok to take ibuprofen, which can also help with the swelling and inflammation (be sure to confirm with your surgeon on when they are ok with you taking ibuprofen).

Day 2 – Liposuction Recovery:

The morning after your procedure, we will see you back at Imagen’s Omaha clinic. At this visit, we will take off your compression garment and dressings. One of our surgeons will examine you to make sure that things look like they’re healing well and then we will place you in a new compression garment. You may be tempted to sneak a peek at your new body at this point (we know…it’s exciting!) but this is definitely NOT YOUR FINAL RESULT. There is A LOT of swelling, fluid, bruising, and floppy skin at this point. These things take time to improve…be patient!

Diet

Drinking lots of water is important. You will definitely be in the bathroom more often (this should help with moving about!) This will help to flush out some of the extra fluid that was used for numbing. Continue with your high protein, low salt diet. Natural diuretics like pineapple, cucumber and parsley can also help to reduce water retention and improve swelling.

Be aware of your bowel movements. Sometimes wearing compression can make it uncomfortable to pass a stool. Narcotic pain medications can also lead to constipation. If you haven’t had a bowel movement in 2 days, you should take a stool softener so things don’t build up.

Discomfort

The day after your lipo is generally the day with the worst pain. Just like when you work out too hard and you feel sore the next day. In general, the more you move around, the better you will feel. Take the kids or dogs on a walk around the block, get up and move around the house. You don’t want to do heavy lifting and certainly won’t feel up to high impact exercise (you shouldn’t do it at this point anyways), but you need to keep moving.

Arnica (topical and oral) can help with bruising and discomfort at this point.

Swelling and discomfort at this point are expected and normal. So are lumps and bumps. You cannot even begin to assess results at this point.

Days 3 to 5 – Liposuction Recovery

If you’ve been moving around and drinking lots of water, you should see a significant improvement in your discomfort during these days. Most patients plan to take 3-5 days off of work, but you should be able to comfortably work from home or do light office work during this time.

Most surgeons will ok the use of ibuprofen at this point. The NSAID medications will not only help with pain control, but will also help decrease inflammation. They will not have the side effects that are seen with the narcotic pain medications (sedation, constipation, etc) so you will be able to drive and work.

If you already have a good exercise routine, we recommend that you keep showing up at the gym. Walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes is great for your swelling but will also help keep you in the habit of going. You would hate to go backwards on your exercise routines after the investment you have just made in yourself!

💬 “I’m 3 days post-op and bruising and swelling is coming in—and I’m still amazed with the results. I felt so welcome and comfortable there. Didn’t feel any judgment, just sweet, kind-hearted people all around… I wouldn’t have done anything different.”
— Ashley, Imagen Neck Lipo Patient

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1 Week After Lipo:

At our Omaha cosmetic surgery clinic, patients usually notice a big turn around at the end of the first week. Generally swelling is peaking around this point but there is typically a big improvement in the discomfort.

If you have stitches, those should be removed at (or near) a week after surgery. The incisions are tiny and should be healing well by this point.

You will have numbness in the skin over most of the treated areas. This is temporary and will improve with time. Calendula gel can help with some of the skin discomfort. You can also use a scar gel or silicone scar stick after your sutures are removed to help minimize scarring.

Hard lumps and bumps are expected. This is swelling and is normal. If you have areas that are more tender than the rest or if you have “squishy” lumps or ones that move like a water balloon when you press on them, you may have a complication known as a seroma. Be sure to discuss this with your surgeon; if you’re unsure about any symptoms or have any concerns, our team is just a phone call away.

You may have creasing from the compression garment. If this is the case, craft foam can be purchased (or medical grade foam can be provided by your surgeon) and placed inside of the compression. If you are using foam, it can be helpful to wear a snug t-shirt or camisole under the compression to prevent irritation of the skin.

2 Weeks After Lipo:

You will still be swollen 2 weeks after your liposuction procedure. Any bruising that you had should be improving by this point.

You should be feeling a lot better. You may have itching in the skin, both from the compression garment and from your nerves waking up. Some patients experience “weird” sensations like tingling, “zinger” pains or other strange sensations as the nerves wake up.

You should continue to wear your compression garment 24/7 unless otherwise directed by your Omaha surgeon.

3 Weeks After Liposuction:

By this point your compression garment will have become both your best friend and your worst enemy. You will likely be getting tired of wearing the same clothes to cover the compression garment and you may be fed up with the foam or abdominal board and ready to be “free.” Unfortunately, your skin will probably feel “weird” at this point and most patients are more comfortable with the compression on rather than off.

In terms of your liposuction results at 3 weeks, your swelling continues to improve, but you will still have hard lumps and bumps. The swelling is usually the worst in the “dependent” areas, meaning that gravity pulls the fluid downward. The most common areas for swelling at this point are the lower tummy and lower back or just above the belly button.

After 3 weeks, you should be healed enough to go back to your normal exercise routines. Be sure to wear your compression when you are exercising, because you will definitely want the extra support during any high impact workouts.

1 Month After Lipo – Seeing The Change:

At Imagen in Omaha, we schedule another follow-up around this time to monitor your progress and answer any questions. If everything is healing on schedule, you should be cleared to come out of your compression at this point. Many patients feel a boost in confidence as they start to notice their new shape emerging. We take our patient’s first set of “after” measurements at the 1 month visit. This is when we see the biggest change in size. Keep in mind, true results take time—and consistency with healthy habits will pay off.

You should continue to watch your salt intake, follow a healthy diet and drink lots of water. You do still have swelling, which will fluctuate over the next several months. If you notice that you begin to puff up, just put your compression back on for a few days (so no…you shouldn’t burn it yet!)

5 Weeks After Liposuction:

You should be settling back into a comfortable routine without your compression garment. You may still want to wear your compression or something supportive while exercising. High impact aerobics may still be uncomfortable. If you bump the counter, you may be more sensitive than before your procedure. It’s normal to have some continued soreness and residual swelling. This will continue to improve with time.

6 Weeks Post Op Liposuction:

You may notice that you continue to have swelling that comes and goes. This is normal and expected. If you had an energy based procedure (like SmartLipo or Renuvion) you should be starting to notice some skin tightening happening.

3 Months After Liposuction – The Reveal Visit:

This is the visit when we take the “after” photos, it’s our favorite visit! Almost all of your swelling should be gone, though some patients may have small pockets remaining in the treatment areas. Your contour should be smoothing out and your clothes are fitting much better. Scars should be lightening and skin tightening should be continuing. You will be showing off your new beach or pool body!

6 Months After Liposuction – Continuing to Improve:

You made it! This is the “final result” for most patients. Your contours are more smooth, swelling has resolved and skin tightening has made the final result look amazing! Rarely, patients may have persistent pockets of swelling or continued skin laxity at this point. Your surgeon may request that you return one more time at 9 months to make sure you are loving your result.

How Long Do Liposuction Results Last?

After all of the waiting for your final results, you want to make sure it’s worth it! Liposuction is a permanent fat removal procedure. As long as you take care of your investment, you will have beautiful results for the long run. But any liposuction result is a team effort and you are the most important part of that team! Be sure you’re maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Make wise dietary choices and keep a good exercise routine. Weight loss will often improve your lipo results. Gaining weight will be detrimental to your lipo results, so keep an eye on the scale. That doesn’t mean to check your weight daily, but do monitor your weight once a month or so to make sure that you catch an upward trend before it gets out of hand.

** It should be noted that this timeline is for liposuction only. Your recovery timeline will depend on which liposuction methods are used and on the amount of fat removed. It will not apply for BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift) or more invasive plastic surgery such as abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).