Breast Implants Start High
Your breasts may also look smaller thanyou were hoping for. At first, the muscle and breasttissues are tight, compressing your implant. In time, thesetissues will relax and loosen, and the implant will fallinto a more natural-looking position.Wear your bra 24 hours a day for six weeksafter surgery. You may remove the bra to shower orfor washing. Do not buy underwire bras forthree months from the day of surgery.The skin under your breast can still be alittle numb during this time and the underwire cancause a sore.
You can expect to have some degree of painafter breast augmentation surgery. In general, theaverage number of days that you may reasonably expect to be inpain is several days after breastaugmentation.
Bras Right After BreastAugmentation
There's no consensus wheather you should wear abra or not immediately after your surgery. Dr. PaulVitenas, one of the country's highest rated breastaugmentation surgeons, advises against wearing brasimmediately after surgery and for up to six weeksafterwards.Use ice frequently and consistently
Make sure to have ice packs ready to go rightafter surgery, and apply them to your surgical bra andbreast area consistently and often right after youroperation. Icing is most effective right after youroperation, generally within the first 48 or 72hours.Some doctors require patients to wear compressiongarments for just four weeks following surgery, while othersrecommend wearing them for as long as three months.In most cases, your doctor will require you to wearthe garment for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The general time for which you may be required to wearthe breast compression garment may range from 6 weeks tomore depending on your case and surgeon'sinstructions.
At a month most patients can resume mostexercise except heavy lifting. At six weeks, patients aregenerally completely healed and can resume allexercises. After breast augmentation, especially withimplants under the muscle, I recommend patients try to avoidstrenuous chest exercise such as push ups.
It is important to sleep on your back for a whileafter breast augmentation surgery. To reduce swelling,your upper body should be elevated, especially while yousleep. However, it's important that you don't sleepon your side or roll onto your side in yoursleep.
Returning to normal activities
In the first 1 to 2 weeks, you can use yourarm normally up to shoulder height for light activities,such as face washing, hair brushing, eating etc. But avoidlifting your arm above the height of your shoulder.Don't lift anything heavy, but you can use yourarm to lift a cup of tea.This is because patients need to understand how theimplants will change over time, and what they should be watchingfor. The implants start to drop after a few days. At sixweeks they are usually almost there, and they have typicallyreached their final position after three months.
Push your breasts toward the middle of yourchest, this time with the opposite hand (crisscross thembelow your breasts). Hold and repeat. Place both of yourhands vertically on each side of a breast and squeeze. Thesqueeze should be firm enough but not painful.
Typically, three to four weeks after your surgeryyou can get into the pool or the water at the beach.You might want to try earlier than that because you feel fantastic,but your skin tissue needs that time to heal to be water resistant,so it's best to wait until you have the all-clear from yourdoctor.
You can take your first shower the dayafter surgery if you do not have a drain near yourincision. If you have a drain, you can shower the dayafter it is removed. This is usually in a few days.Do not take a bath or soak in a hot tub for about 4weeks.
breastband (plural breastbands) A strophium: aband worn around the breasts. (nautical) A band ofcanvas, attached to a ship's rigging, that provides support for theman heaving the lead in heavy weather.
Remember, your implants will ride high on your chestinitially, and the breast band (accompanied by massage lateron) will help the implant move down into place by usingpressure. The breast band can be worn alone or with asupport bra. Many patients prefer wearing a breastband with a support bra on top of it.
Simple to wear, the implant stabilizer band canbe used alone or with a breast garment to enhance post-operativeresults of breast augmentation procedures. This breast bandhelps stabilize the breast implant, keep it in its correctposition, and prevent the implant from rising.
The binder may or may not be provided to you byyour surgeon (be sure to inquire.) In general, a compressionbinder is worn for 3-6 weeks post-op.
If they are removed too early you couldsuffer a build up of fluid around your operation site. Ifthey are left in for too long there is an increased risk ofinfection. You may feel discomfort around the drain site andmay need medication to help ease this.
Drains are soft, plastic tubes placed in the areaof your surgery to drain away fluid that collectsunder the skin as you heal.
Avoid baths, hot tubs, and swimming pools for at least 6weeks after your surgery. Speak with your doctor or nursebefore you use deodorant, lotion, or cream anywhere nearyour incision.
It is crucial that you always sleep in the bestbra after breast augmentation at least until your incisionshave healed. This will take at least six weeks or moredepending on the procedure you had so it is best to consult yourdoctor on the same.
The first couple of days after surgery,the fluid may be a dark red color. This is normal. As youcontinue to heal, it may look pink or pale yellow. Write down theamount and color of your drainage on yourJackson-Pratt drainage log.
Generally, having a drain removed does nothurt, but it can feel rather odd as the tubing slidesout of the body.
