WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER A BREAST AUGMENTATION

What happens AFTER your breast augmentation surgery? What can you expect now with your new breast implants? Let's go over some of the items I like to let my patients know.

• This is important: your first appointment after surgery will be between 5-10 days. Here we can see how you are healing and how the breast implants are settling (don't worry this happens over the course of MONTHS, not DAYS).
• Mild to moderate pain requiring medication the first 2-3 days. Mild pain for 2-3 weeks at most typically. Most patients don't need much pain medication past the first few days for breast augmentations.
• It is normal to feel like the breast implants are not part of your body. It takes about 1-3 months for your breast implants to drop and soften and feel more natural.
• You may hear some sloshing or squeaking around your implants for the first 4-6 weeks after surgery. This is rare, but can happen.
• It is normal to experience an altered sensation in your breasts. (Bruising, swelling, numbness, soreness, tightness, burning are expamples.) These issues will continue to improve as healing progresses. Sometimes, the skin around the incision of the breast implant remains partially or completely numb for several months or longer. Tingling, burning, or shooting pains indicate regeneration of small sensory nerves. This feeling will disappear with time and is not cause for alarm.
• During this initial healing time, we want you to progressively do the activities of daily living as much as you can. DO NOT, HOWEVER, MAKE SPECIAL ATTEMPTS TO STRETCH OR EXERCISE THE HEALING AREAS. Also, do not submerge your incisions in water. A shower if fine after 48 hours.
• Sleep with your head slightly elevated while ONLY laying on your back for 3-4 weeks. Some patients choose to sleep in a recliner for the first several nights. A wedge pillow system is perfect for this procedure aftercare.
• No overheating for the first 4 weeks following your breast augmentation surgery (spas, exercising in the sun, etc).
• No lifting greater than 5-10 pounds for the first 3 weeks. Anything heavier than a gallon of milk is too heavy.
• Low-impact cardio can be resumed after 3 weeks post breast implant surgery. Leave the high-impact for when you are fully healed.
• Strenuous exercise should be avoided until 6 weeks post-op. Once you begin working those muscles again, start gradually to avoid any injuries. Let your body tell you what it can tolerate. And remember for the best results--listen to your body! You will get back to where you were before in your workouts, and going the slow and steady is best for healing. You want your breast implants to stay looking amazing!
• Sexual activity can be resumed whenever comfortable. Just be sure that no weight or direct pressure is placed on the breasts. This is entirely up to the individual patient.
• You may resume “normal activities”, such as shopping and light chores, as tolerated. In most patients, this happens somewhere between the first 2-4 days post breast augmentation surgery. An office job can commonly be resumed 2-4 days after surgery. Jobs which require heavy lifting (such as a hospital nurse) will commonly require 4-6 weeks.
• As always please send in your questions. And if you ever have questions after your surgery, contact me or your plastic surgeon. They are there to help guide you through not only breast augmentation surgery but also the healing process after. We all want you to have the BEST results possible.

–Dr. D

Dr. Chase Derrick sees patients in the DFW area including Dallas, Plano, Frisco, and Richardson. He also has an office in Sherman, serving the Texoma region. Dr. Chase Derrick is Board-Certified through the American Board of Plastic Surgery and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Aesthetic Society of Plastic Surgeons. He is highly sought after for his aestheic work particularly in breast and body surgery.