The following question from our forum is from a man who wants to know how long after tummy tuck surgery can you start wearing pants.

Date: 10/13/2010 Submitted by: James

Thanks for the great story. I’m wondering, how long was it before you could wear your pants after surgery? With the swelling, did you go up a size or wear sweat pants? Thanks. James

RESPONSE

Date: 10/13/2010 Submitted by: Tanner

James,

I was able to wear long pants one week after surgery. No sweat pants, just plain old jeans. I can’t really remember, but I believe they were the same jeans I wore the weeks prior to my surgery. I did have a large assortment of pants in my closet (all sizes) from my “fat days” to choose from, so finding a pair that fit wasn’t a problem.

My excess skin and weight that I lost was mostly above the waist line (and I always wore pants fairly low). Most of the swelling from surgery was above the waist so it was not a problem as far as wearing pants was concerned. I did have to wear the bandages and the compression garment under the pants which added some girth but not too much.

Here is an excerpt take from my website about the first time I wore pants.

“I went to Publix and wore an ace bandage beneath my shirt and long pants. Driving to supermarket was uneventful but only took 5 minutes. I used extreme care getting into and out of the car. Walking up and down the aisles was no problem except that I was getting a little nervous and a little shaky. This was due in part to my having to hold up pants with my left hand to keep them from falling down. My pants were slightly too big and I could not tighten my belt because of my stitches at my waste.”

“To assist my pants in staying up and to better protect my stitches I wore the smaller ace bandage low on my hips up to and covering the stitches. In doing this my pants will fit tighter and I won’t have to cinch my belt as much. It worked except that by the time I got home it felt a little too tight and was a relief when I got it off.”

Best regards,

Tanner