How long must I wear a girdle (elastic compression garment) after surgery?
The length of time that a patient must wear an elastic compression garment depends on the type of aftercare technique preferred by the surgeon. If the surgeon closes the incisions with stitches then patients are typically instructed to wear a garment for 2 to 6 weeks. If the surgeon places stitches in the skin incisions, then the blood-tinged tumescent solution remains trapped beneath the skin causing prolonged bruising, swelling, and tenderness, which in turn requires the patient to wear an elastic compression garment for an extended length of time. With the open drainage technique (skin incisions/adits are not closed with stitches) for post-liposuction care, an elastic compression garment is typically worn for an average of only 3 to 6 days. With “open-drainage” patients must wear compression garments for 24 hours beyond the time when all drainage has stopped. For example after tumescent liposuction of the outer thighs, if all drainage stops after 3 days, then the garments must be wo
