How soon after surgery can I fly?

For the majority of procedures that we carry out at Bella Vou under Local Anaesthetic, there will be no restrictions as to when you can fly. Each airline has its own regulations about flying after surgery. Check with your airline before you fly, particularly if you’ve had complicated surgery.

Ideally, we suggest to leave flying for at least 1 – 2 weeks from surgery. This will allow us to check your wounds and to ensure all is healing well before you fly out. Generally, there are no medical reasons as to why you can not fly following a Local Anaesthetic procedure. Following a General Anaesthetic, we advise to wait at least two weeks for short haul flights and at least 6 weeks for long haul flights.

As a rough guide, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) say that before flying:

• allow four to five days after simple abdominal surgery (belly button surgery)
• 10 days after more complicated abdominal surgery
• for an abdominoplasty, waiting at least 2 weeks would be advisable. You will not be completely mobile following the surgery and are at a much higher risk of developing a clot in the legs (DVT) or lungs (pulmonary embolus).

We suggest that you wear compression stockings and make sure you keep yourself well-hydrated throughout the flight. You should also check your travel insurance policy carefully, as you may need to inform the insurance company that you’ve recently had surgery. This could increase the cost of your travel insurance.