How Long Is Plastic Surgery Recovery Time?

The time it takes to recover from plastic surgery depends on what kind of plastic surgery the patient has.

And much of the recovery time also depends on age, state of overall health and even whether the patient feels good about having the surgery in the first place. Generally, people who are younger and healthier tend to bounce back from surgery faster than people who are older and whose health is less robust.

People who look forward to what they’re going to look like when the bandages come off, the stitches come out and the swelling goes down are also going to make a faster recovery than people who are only focused on their present misery. All of these factors can make the recovery time for the same surgery vary widely. Here are some general recovery times for different types of plastic surgery:

Abdominoplasty
A full abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck, is rather major surgery. Tissue and muscles have been rearranged, and it will simply take more time for them to heal. The recovery time can range from two to nine months.

Liposuction
Cosmetic surgeons place the range for recovery between two months and a year.

Facelift
A facelift can take from two months to 10 months for a full recovery.

Blepharoplasty
This is eyelid surgery. Though it seems to be minor surgery, it can take between two to seven months for a patient to make a complete recovery from this surgery.

Rhinoplasty
This intricate form of surgery can take anywhere from three to four months to a year to completely heal. That means that the nose is going to finally be in the shape that the patient and the doctor agreed upon.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the patient will need to spend all that time in bed and out of work. The time that’s taken off from a job or day to day tasks is much shorter. For example, a person might want to take off about three to four weeks after a tummy tuck, two weeks for a facelift and eyelid surgery and about a week for everything else.

Even before the surgery, the patient should arrange for someone to stay with him or her for at least a few days while they heal. He or she should also arrange their home to make day to day tasks as manageable as possible. The patient should follow his or her doctor’s advice about after care and make sure to get plenty of rest and drink plenty of water. With this in mind, recovery should be a breeze!