If you are thinking about a liposuction procedure, you must also be prepared to miss a few days from work. Even an outpatient liposuction procedure requires the patient to refrain from normal activities for approximately two weeks. The type of work you do, the extent of your surgery and your doctor´s orders will determine the amount of time you will need to be off work following liposuction. If you have a procedure that is more radical than simple outpatient surgery your recovery time will be longer. You should leave enough time open in case you need additional recovery time. You may also want to find out if your company allows you to use sick time or short-term disability for an elective procedure. If not you will need to plan to use vacation time or unpaid leave when you have liposuction.

For several weeks after you have liposuction you will experience bruising, soreness and swelling. You also run a small risk of developing an infection or discoloration of your skin. In most occupations none of these surgical complications is a problem, but if you work in a field where more of your skin is exposed such as a fitness trainer, lifeguard, dancer, or actor/actress you may need to take more recovery time in order to assure that all signs of your liposuction procedure have faded. Having any of these post-surgical symptoms is perfectly normal and nothing about which you should be concerned.

Before you have liposuction you need to discuss with your doctor what to expect. Of course you may experience different post-surgical signs than someone else who has also had liposuction. It is impossible for anyone to know for certain what an individual patient may experience following a liposuction procedure, so the doctor can only advice you of what you could possibly experience. Keep in mind that the less fat you have removed the less chance you have for any unpleasant complications following liposuction thus the shorter your recovery time will be. In addition the need to have less fat removed means you are in better health because you don't suffer from obesity.

Before you consider liposuction you want to make sure you are in good health and of average weight. Those who are substantially overweight and need to have a great deal of fat removed will experience a longer recovery time following liposuction. In addition, they will not lose much weight from the procedure, so if your weight is currently in the obese category, you may want to go on a weight loss and exercise program before you consider liposuction. If you still have areas of your body that contain fat cells after a weight loss and exercise program, you can look into liposuction to remove the remainder of the fat pockets. The key is always to remove as little fat as necessary in order to prevent a long recovery time and any chance for infection. It's easier to do that if your weight is close to normal at the time of your procedure.