Compression garments
The information in this section is for general orientation and does not replace personal medical assessment, instructions or follow-up. Always follow your surgeon's recommendations.
A compression garment is part of the treatment, not an accessory. A badly chosen one is uncomfortable, gets abandoned within days and stops doing its job; a well chosen one you forget you are wearing.
What they are for
Compression helps control swelling, helps the skin settle to the new contour and reduces fluid building up underneath. It does not shape the result on its own and does not replace it: it supports what was done in theatre.
Which one applies to you, from when and for how long is set by Dr. García, because it changes with the procedure and with how each patient is progressing.
Abdominal garments
These are the ones used after a tummy tuck, liposculpture and body contouring. They come in different heights and different degrees of compression, and some include the legs when thighs or hips were treated.
What separates them from a shop-bought shaper is not the brand: it is that the compression is even and does not dig in at the edges. A garment leaving a deep groove in the skin is either on wrong or the wrong one.
- Fasten it lying down and starting from the bottom.
- Seams should not sit over a scar.
- If it leaves a deep mark, numbs you or makes breathing hard, it is not the right one.
Post-surgical bras
After breast surgery a specific bra is used: no underwire, cotton, front fastening and wide straps. The front fastening is not a detail, it is what lets you put it on without lifting your arms.
In some cases an upper band is added. If you are given one, you are shown where it has to sit: in the wrong place it does nothing.
- No underwire, ever.
- Front fastening and straps that do not dig in.
- Wear one on the day of surgery if you were told to.
Other compression garments
Depending on the procedure you may be given arm sleeves, thigh garments, facial chin straps or compression stockings. Each has its correct way of going on and its own wearing time.
Compression stockings, when they are prescribed, are about circulation in the legs and not about contour. Worth knowing, so you do not take them off because they are uncomfortable.
Choosing the size
Size is chosen from the measurements you are given, not from your usual clothing size. Buying a size down "so it holds tighter" is the commonest mistake and the one that throws most garments away: it compresses badly, it hurts and it gets abandoned.
Since volume changes during recovery, some procedures allow for more than one garment or for a system you can adjust. Ask in consultation how many you will need before buying.
- Measure yourself as instructed, not by eye.
- Ask whether it is worth buying two so one can be washed.
- If you are between two sizes, check before buying.
How long they are worn
How many hours a day and for how many weeks depends on the procedure and on how your recovery is going. There is no figure that applies to everyone, and yours is on your instruction sheet.
Stopping early because "I already look fine" is common, and it is exactly when the garment is still doing its job. If it becomes unbearable, say so at your check-up: there is nearly always an alternative.
Care and washing
The compression lives in the elastic fibre, and heat and spinning destroy it. A badly washed garment loses its effect within weeks even though it still looks new.
Hand wash in cold or lukewarm water, mild soap, no bleach and no fabric softener, and dry flat in the shade. No tumble dryer, no iron, no radiator, no direct sun.
- By hand, in cold or lukewarm water.
- No softener and no bleach.
- Flat, in the shade, never in a dryer.
- Do not wring it out by twisting.
What applies to your case is given to you in writing by Dr. García, with your quotation and your consent form. If anything here does not match your sheet, your sheet is the one that counts.