Breast Augmentation Recovery

It is important to allow yourself adequate recovery time from breast augmentation surgery. By avoiding certain activities and following your surgeon’s instructions closely, you will experience a shorter and more comfortable breast augmentation recovery period.

What to Expect after Breast Augmentation Surgery

Typical instructions for breast augmentation recovery include limiting movement and getting plenty of rest. Any activity that involves lifting, bending, or straining should be avoided, as it can increase pain and soreness and delay healing.

Patients can usually return to work after one week, provided that their jobs do not require heavy lifting or other strenuous activities. In general, patients who receive subglandular breast implant placement requires less breast augmentation recovery time than patients who receive submuscular breast implant placement.

Your surgeon knows your medical history and individual needs best. He or she will provide you with specific guidelines to follow so that your breast augmentation recovery time will be as minimal as possible. Following your surgeon’s instructions will also help you to achieve optimal breast implant results.

The First Two Weeks

During the first 24 to 48 hours after breast augmentation surgery, recovery is uncomfortable for most patients. Fatigue and breast pain are common during this time. In most cases, pain can be managed with medication, but you may still feel sore, uncomfortable, and very tired. It is best to have someone stay with you to help out and care for you during this time.

A few days after breast augmentation surgery, the gauze dressings are removed from the patient’s breasts and replaced with a surgical bra. If stitches need to be removed, they will be taken out in seven to 10 days.

The First Several Months

For the first several weeks of breast augmentation recovery, the breasts will be very sensitive. They may also be swollen for as long as four to five weeks. To reduce the risk of an injury that could delay recovery, patients should avoid physical contact with the breasts until sensitivity has subsided. Strenuous activities and exercise can be resumed approximately one month after breast augmentation surgery.

Patients should not attempt to rush the recovery process, as this could result in injury to the breasts, increasing the recovery time needed and diminishing the quality of the results achieved. For more detailed information about the breast augmentation recovery process and how you can achieve optimal results from your surgery, be sure to consult your surgeon at length about these matters.

Breast Surgery Scars

After breast augmentation surgery, incision scars will most likely remain firm and pink for approximately six weeks. Over the next several months, the scars will fade significantly, but they will never disappear completely.

The locations of these scars will depend on the incision site and breast implant placement technique used during surgery. When properly placed by a skilled surgeon, breast surgery incisions usually leave scars that are hard to detect except under very close observation. To reduce the chances of more noticeable scars, follow your surgeon’s breast augmentation recovery instructions carefully.

Breast Augmentation and Your Long Term Health

It is recommended that women over 40 receive annual mammograms. Breast augmentation patients should visit a radiology center where the technicians are trained to perform mammograms on women with breast implants. It is important to mention that you have breast implants both when you make the appointment and when you arrive for the screening. The technician will use special techniques to avoid placing excessive pressure on the implants and to get the best reading possible. Since breast implants can affect the results of a mammogram, additional x-rays taken from various angles will be required to ensure accurate readings. Ultrasound may also be used to examine the breast tissue.

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