The following post from our forum is from a woman who is having a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) and her surgeon told her it was OK for her to fly 2 days after surgery. She is wondering if this sounds too optimistic.

Date: 11/02/2011 Submitted by: LGIs It Safe To Fly 2 Days After A Tummy Tuck?

Hi. I have an abdominoplasty booked for Nov 23rd. The flight home has to be arranged (Plus all the taxi rides, hanging round airports etc.). My surgeon says it should be ok to fly 2 days later on Nov 25th. I trust him, but is this, perhaps a bit over optimistic? Thank you.

RESPONSE

Date: 11/02/2011 Submitted by: Tanner

I agree, it does sound A LOT OPTIMISTIC!

I did some quick research about flying after a tummy tuck and found..

Realself.com (http://www.realself.com/question/breast-implants-tummy-tuck-flying-travelling) has 12 Medical Doctors who have commented on flying after tummy tuck surgery (specifically a woman flying after a Tummy Tuck and Breast Augmentation surgery). Most of these doctors said that it should be safe to fly 4-6 weeks after the surgery. The earliest recommendation to fly after surgery was 10 days.

Reasons Doctors Don’t Want You To Fly Too Soon After Surgery

Prolonged sitting can increased your risk of a blood clot or deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Immediately after surgery is when you are most susceptible to complications including infection, fluid or seroma collection and pulmonary embolism.

If You Have To Fly After Surgery

Stay well hydrated (drink lots of water)
Walk around and pump your calf muscles frequently to encourage circulation.
Perform stationary exercises in your seat.
Wear your compression garment.
Check with your doctor to see if there are any special medications or special instructions.

Is It Safe To Fly 2 Days After A Tummy Tuck?

I don’t know what to tell you about your surgeon saying it will be OK for you to fly 2 days after your tummy tuck (abdominoplasty). That seems contrary to all the other doctors. I would scratch my head on that for a while. You may want to do some additional research such as asking your family doctor about it, asking doctors online then calling or emailing your surgeon and ask him to explain why he thinks it would be OK if all the “others” indicate that it is not safe to do so.

If this doctor is in the US, I would check him out thoroughly (ref Tummy Tuck Plastic Surgeons)

If you are having your tummy tuck overseas I’m not really sure how to check him out.

Good luck,

Tanner