How long does it take to truly recover fully from flap surgery

  The time required for a true full recovery from flap surgery should be judged by the type of surgery and the patient’s own condition, and cannot be generalized.  In the case of superficial subcutaneous fascial tissue grafting and simple flap grafting, patients with thin body type, thin subcutaneous fat layer, and good physical condition may be able to fully recover in 3-6 weeks. If the flap graft is followed by more composite tissue, such as in obese patients or contains muscle tissue, the late recovery of the composite tissue flap graft will take a long time and may take 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year. Since the composite tissue graft may be bloated, the fat inside has to be removed at 3 or 6 months after surgery, and the flap has to be thinned and aesthetically adjusted, so it may take 6 months or 1 year after the surgery is done.  In addition, after flap surgery patients also need to strengthen nutrition, more protein, and patients should rest in bed, do not make the surgical area under pressure, do not exercise strenuously, etc.