What To Expect After Your Tummy Tuck

Okay you've done everything you can to get rid of that extra flab of hanging skin on your belly. You exercise every day, you live on a strict diet, and your fit and toned just about everywhere else but your belly. At this point you've probably looked into cosmetic procedures such as a tummy tuck. And if you're in good health, not overweight, and a non-smoker, then you probably have discovered that you are a good candidate for abdominoplasty. But there's more to cosmetic surgery than just deciding which one is right for you. You also need to learn as much as possible about the process itself, including the cost, the recovery time, and what to expect in general from any type of surgery.
To do it right you should break it up into stages. Stage I explore the options before you decide which surgery is right for you. For example many people are under the impression a tummy tuck will take away a lot of fat. It will take away some but not huge amounts. If you have more belly fat and can be taken away with a tuck your Dr. will probably recommend you have liposuction done at the same time.
Once you understand exactly what a tummy tuck is and isn't going to do for you, you need to move on to stage two, which is finding out about what to expect after your surgery.
Many patients get so caught up in thinking about how they're going to look afterwards, that they just tend to gloss over the details of recovery. The recovery time is nothing to minimize or ignore. If you don't know what to expect after your surgery you're not going to be happy with your results. 
There is a lot of misinformation out on the web that can make you believe you will be back on your feet in back to work a couple days from major surgery, and simply not true. You probably won't be bedridden for weeks upon end, but you will be recovering from a surgical event, and this will slow you down.
At the very minimum you need to have somebody take care of you for at least two days or more until you are feeling able take care of yourself. A tummy tuck involves a surgeon tightening up your abdominal wall muscles. This is going to make your recovery time of longer, and a little painful. It's going to be hard few to reach lift things especially children, so you won't be able to do any hands-on parenting for at least a week.
Once your drainage tube is removed your incisions have healed, and you no longer have to wear compression garments you're going to start feeling more like yourself. But you likely won't see the actual results of your tummy tuck for months as your body heals and the swelling goes down. So don't expect to come out of surgery looking like a model, it'll take a while.