Recovery is part of the treatment, not the gap between appointments.
The Recovery & Aftercare service of Chongqing West District Hospital explains what happens after an operation, in plain English: what is normal in the first 48 hours, how to care for a wound and a dressing, what drains and stitches do, how to stay ahead of pain, how swelling and bruising settle week by week, when it is safe to go back to work, exercise and swimming, how to care for a scar, and exactly which warning signs mean you should stop waiting and act.
Honest guidance from the team that performs the surgery. The written instructions your own discharging team gave you always take priority over anything general you read here.
- Wound care and dressings
- Drains, stitches and pain control
- Week-by-week recovery timeline
- Follow-up and warning signs
Aftercare built on three questions
Most of the worry in the weeks after an operation comes from not knowing whether what you are seeing is ordinary healing or something that needs attention. Everything on this site is organised around answering that.
Your own instructions come first
Dressings, drains, medication, activity limits and review dates are decided by the team that performed your operation, and they are specific to it. Where anything here differs from what your discharging team wrote down, follow them and ask them.
Know what is normal
Swelling that peaks on the second or third day, bruising that spreads downwards, numbness, firmness and a wound that feels tight are all ordinary. Recognising them as expected is what stops a normal recovery from becoming a frightening one.
Know when to act
Severe or worsening pain, spreading redness, fever, a soaked dressing, a swollen painful calf, breathlessness, or a flap that turns dark or cold are not things to watch until the next appointment. We state them plainly, so that acting is a decision already made.
The team behind the surgery, and behind the recovery
The leadership of the Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics Medical Center brings together surgical planning, plastic and reconstructive surgery, skin and laser care, and dermatology. Wound healing, scar maturation and the review of a result over the first year are shared work across all four.
Tongchun Mao, MD (毛彤春)
Medical Reviewer · Deputy Director
Deputy Director and head of aesthetic surgery, and the physician who reviews the recovery guidance on this site. His practice covers detailed facial surgery, facial rejuvenation and surgical contouring, performing over 700 operations a year.
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Shaoliang Wang, MD (王韶亮)
Plastic Surgery · Center Director
Center Director and the surgical backstop of the team: revision of failed operations from elsewhere, excision of skin tumours, complex wound repair, and the management of wounds that are slow to heal. 20+ years of tertiary-hospital surgery.
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Ke He, MD (何锞)
Scar & Skin Recovery · Deputy Director
Deputy Director and head of skin and laser aesthetics; she leads scar assessment and maturation review, and the laser-based treatment of scars that are not settling as they should. 20+ years in laser and aesthetic dermatology.
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Yongbo Jia, MD (贾勇波)
Dermatology · Deputy Director
Deputy Director and head of dermatology; he manages the skin around a healing wound — barrier and pigment control, wound infection and dermatologic complications, and the care that protects a scar. Trained at the Institute of Dermatology, CAMS.
View profile →Recovery, explained honestly
These guides follow the pathway from the first night at home to the twelve-month review. Each one explains what is expected at that stage, what would be unusual, and what to do about it — without selling anything and without promising an outcome.
The First 48 Hours at Home: What Is Normal and What Is Not
What to expect in the first two days after surgery — the swelling, discomfort and drowsiness that are normal, the signs that are not, and who to contact at any hour.
Read the guide →Wound Care and Dressings: Keeping the Wound Clean and Dry
How to keep a healing wound clean and dry, when dressings are changed, what to do if one comes loose, and the everyday habits that protect a closing wound.
Read the guide →Drains and Stitches: What They Do and When They Come Out
Why a drain is placed, how it is looked after at home, when sutures are removed, and what it means when a wound is closed with dissolving stitches instead.
Read the guide →Pain After Surgery: Why Control Matters for Healing
Why untreated pain slows recovery, the classes of pain relief used after surgery and how they are combined, and why needing relief is not a sign of weakness.
Read the guide →Swelling, Bruising and the Recovery Timeline: What Settles When
An honest week-by-week account of how swelling and bruising behave after surgery, when each stage settles, and why final results are judged at six to twelve months.
Read the guide →Activity, Rest and Sleep After Surgery: What to Avoid and for How Long
How much to move and how much to rest in the weeks after surgery, which activities are restricted and why, and why sleeping position matters after facial surgery.
Read the guide →We will not tell you recovery is quicker than it is
Recovery takes longer than most patients expect. Swelling can take months to settle and the final result of most operations is judged at six to twelve months, once the scar has matured. Scars are permanent, though they fade and soften. Some pain, bruising and numbness are expected, and rushing back to work, training or the water commonly causes a setback that costs more time than it saved. And a warning sign is not something to watch until the next appointment — it is a reason to make contact the same day. That is the honest picture, and this site is written to it.
Questions about your recovery? Ask your own team
Recovery raises more questions than any appointment has time to answer. If something is worrying you — a dressing, a drain, pain, swelling, a scar, or a symptom you are not sure about — contact the team that treated you. The written instructions you were discharged with always take priority over general guidance, including everything on this page.
Part of Scars — 4 sites on this topic