How long does the swelling last after a tummy tuck?

6 weeks: 6 weeks, but the scars will continue to stabilize for 3 months.

3 to 6 months: Sweling after a tummy tuck lasts up to six months, and sometimes longer. A great deal of it resolves after several weeks to two months, but much of takes many months to totally go away. One of my patients, a seamstress, actually quantified this and showed she lost several dress sizes from immediately after surgery over the next year.

Down in stages: Swelling will decrease in stages. Some advocate compression garments and lymphatic massage to expedite resolution if swelling. Typically most swelling occurs within 4 days followed by marked decrease and diuresis (urination) over the first 7-10 days. Fibrosis then occurs over a 3/6 week period followed by resolution with scar maturation over a 3-6 month period.

Many Months: Generally, it takes many months for swelling to resolve after tummy tuck surgery and it may take up to one year  (or greater) for complete skin redraping  to occur. I hope this helps.

Varies...: It will be longer if you have more surgery particularly if you have liposuction combined with a long incision. On average 3-6 months with liposuction. It slowly resolves.

It depends: If you had liposuction with your tummy tuck, the swelling will be more pronounced and take longer to resolve. Most patients are about 80%-90% resolved by 4 weeks post-op.

Final result: The final result from any surgery is complete after one year. The majority of obvious change has occurred by 4-6 months.