What are the benefits of wearing compression garment after surgery?

As important as choosing the right plastic surgeon, your post-op recovery will greatly affect the results of your surgeries as well. So if your doctor recommends you to wear compression garment after surgery, listen to him or her, and maybe even wear it longer than recommended.

What is a compression garment?

Compression garments are post-op clothing, typically made from nylon and elastin. They are usually provided by the plastic surgery clinics to their patients after these surgeries:

• Breast augmentation
• Breast lift surgery
• Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty)
• Liposuction
• Breast reduction surgery
• Brazilian butt lift
• Facial contouring surgery
• Mommy makeover

While these compression garments may not look as attractive as your lacy lingerie, but they play a crucial role in enhancing your post-op recovery. They are not only very comfortable to wear, but also essential in helping to speed up healing and minimize swelling.

Benefits of wearing a compression garment after surgery

1. Minimize swelling

When too much fluid builds up in the tissues of your surgical site, it can result in post-op swelling. The less swelling you have, the lesser time you’ll need to get rid of it. Wearing a post-op compression garment helps control swelling by applying pressure on the surgical site.

2. Reduce bruising

Disruption to your blood vessels is inevitable for any surgeries and tend to cause bruising around surgical site. The use of compression garments helps control and reduce bruising considerably.

3. Helps maintain your new contours

Wearing compression garments after surgery is vital in helping to maintain the new shape and contours of your body during post-op recovery. So do try to wear them for as long as you can, preferably until you fully recover!

4. Reduce skin sagging

Compression garments provide support and hold your skin tightly to underlying tissues to help speed up your healing process. Especially after liposuction, they can help reduce lumping, sagging and wrinkling of your skin.

5. Promotes blood circulation

The use of compression garments helps in promoting blood circulation and reducing the risk of blood clot formation. Having proper blood circulation after surgery also helps speed up healing and decreases the chances of infection.

6. Absorbs sweat

High-quality compression garments can absorb sweat and has good antibacterial properties. This helps prevent bacterial growth on the skin and prevent chances of infection, thus accelerating your recovery process.

7. Promotes speedy healing

The lesser swelling and bruising you have, the faster your recovery. The use of compression garments will speed up your healing process, so you will be able to see your new results sooner than expected!

Extra tips to aid your recovery process

1. Avoid salty food

Salty food can cause water retention and worsen swelling so avoid all salty food during post-op.

2. Use cold compress

Applying cold compresses using ice packs at the surgical site can help reduce swelling quickly. Try to apply cold compress as often as you can.

3. Rest, rest and rest

Eat well, sleep well and rest well! By doing so will speed up your recovery process and inevitably gives you good results from your surgery.