Compression garments are an integral part of the tummy tuck recovery process. At the completion of surgery an abdominal binder is placed on the waist area. The abdominal binder serves as the first and perhaps most important compression garment. The abdominal binder compresses the tummy tuck area preventing fluid formation and helping the drain work more efficiently. In my practice, the abdominal binder is worn for the first month. During this first month the abdominal skin and soft-tissue (fat) reattaches to the underlying abdominal wall (muscles). After this occurs—usually in the first week—the drain is removed. The abdominal binder is used for another few weeks until about four weeks of recovery is reached. At that time, less restrictive compression garments can be worn. The variety of garments that can be used at this time and beyond is diverse. Below is a list of post-tummy tuck garments that have been evaluated, rated, and graciously shared by one of my tummy tuck patients. She is generous enough to provide this information with the intention of helping others who are considering and recovering from tummy tuck surgery. My sincere gratitude for this information.
Graciously provided by one of my tummy tuck patients:
Finding support after the binder: Rating 1 – 5
1)
”Love your Assets” by Sarah Blakely
Although this looks pretty supportive, It was more like wearing a ‘shapewear’ swimming suit. Rating – 2
2)
”Spanx” brief.
This was awesome and super tight. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel a lot of support for my upper abdomen. Rating – 3
3)
”Boostie-yay” by spanx.
This was not comfortable and had pretty stiff ribs running in front and sides. It was tight, but not as comfortable as advertised. Rating – 3
4)
”Squeem: perfect waist”
This was incredible. It was very long in the torso, comfortable and flexible. It was incredibly supportive. The material is reinforced with rubber on the outside. It seemed to offer a lot of back support as well. Rating- 5
5)
”Maidenform hi-waist boy short”
I was surprised at how tight this was. It was almost as tight as the spanx brief but taller in the torso. It was perfect and relatively inexpensive. Rating – 5
