After the operation your abdominal skin will be swollen and tight. You will stay in the clinic for 1 to 4 days, depending on the extent of your operation. In the postoperative stage, your abdominal skin will feel numb. This is normal and feeling will return completely in a few weeks or months.
Due to the tension of the abdominal skin you may not be able to stand upright during the first few days. Nevertheless you should get up and walk on the first day following the operation, even if that is only possible by bending forwards slightly.
Do not be shocked when the bandage is removed for the first time and you see your stomach. The skin will be swollen and discoloured. As a rule your bandages will be replaced by compression tights before you are discharged.
It can take weeks or months until you are once again able to move as you could before. If you have trained well before the operation, your recovery time after an abdominal reduction is significantly shorter. Gentle training will help you reduce your recovery time. 
Even patients who have not undertaken any exercise before the abdominal reduction should begin a programme of gentle exercises in order for the swelling to subside quicker and to tone their muscles. However, vigorous training should not be attempted until you can carry out a more extensive programme of exercises without any difficulty.
In the first few weeks after the operation it may seem to you that the scarring becomes worse. This is normal. You have to wait for nine months to a year before your scars subside to the level of the skin and begin to fade.
Although your scars will never completely disappear, the scars from an abdominal reduction can usually be concealed by underwear or swimwear.
Both a partial and a full abdominal reduction offer patients with weak abdominal muscles and significant excess skin a noticeable improvement in their body contour.
As long as you eat in moderation and regularly exercise your muscles, permanent results can be expected.