What’s it like to be a woman with larger breasts than you had before?
It’s easy to be tempted to look at the results of your breast augmentation and forget that you’re still in the middle of recovery. If you find yourself feeling anxious about how things are going, or if you’re wondering what it’s like to go through this process, we want to tell you: it’s normal.
The first few weeks after surgery are usually spent dealing with pain and swelling and adjusting to having drains in place. Sometimes there’s also some difficulty with breastfeeding if you’ve chosen not to breastfeed. These issues can make it hard to focus on anything else, but remember that this is just part of the process! Once your body has healed up and any other symptoms have subsided, then you can start thinking about what’s next for your new body.
You may find yourself struggling with feelings of insecurity or self-consciousness as your body changes over time. You might feel like no one sees “the real” version of you anymore—especially if they haven’t seen you since before surgery—and that can make it hard not only on your relationships but also on yourself. It’s important that we talk about these
Home > Blogs > What is and isn’t Normal to Experience After Breast Augmentation Surgery
What is and isn’t Normal to Experience After Breast Augmentation Surgery
Added on 10th July 2020 in Blog
Breast augmentation surgery continues to be an extremely popular procedure for many patients. For many, how their surgery turns out is extremely satisfactory and happy with how it’s turned out. During the recovery period, however, patients are still sceptical about how their results have turned out after breast augmentation surgery.
Guidance is provided throughout your recovery stage and we ensure that your safety is a top priority by outlining the steps your recovery will take. However, if at some point in your recovery after breast augmentation you have any concerns, we’ve outlined some things that you should and shouldn’t expect to feel or see after your surgery.
Your chest feels quite tight
It’s natural to expect swelling after your surgery. This will be the time period when your breast tissue is beginning to heal and become familiar with the implants that have been inserted. Postoperative swelling can intensify particularly around the 3-5 day mark, potentially amplifying the feeling of pressure on your chest.
Typically, you’re likely to feel discomfort after breast augmentation surgery for the first couple of weeks but feelings of stiffness can occur for a month or so. The majority of the swelling will occur in the first 3 weeks or so after the breast augmentation surgery but moderate swelling is likely to remain for around 3 months.
If the swelling persists severely and your breasts feel very warm or have the feeling of engorgement, it’s important to contact your surgeon immediately as these are common signs of bleeding and infection.
Boobs appear unnatural and nipples are uneven
During the recovery process, it’s important that your breasts are given time to “drop and fluff”. This is a term used to describe the breasts gradually falling into place of their final position the scar begins to fade. This normally occurs around the 3 month mark.
Initially, your breasts are likely to appear rather high on the chest and you’ll generally see some dissimilarities in how they look. This may also include one breast appearing slightly bigger than the other or one dropping lower than the other. Don’t fear that your surgeon made a mistake at this stage as it simply means your breasts need more time to heal.
Give your breasts time to adjust to the new implants. Asymmetry may occur postoperatively as swelling continues to heal and one breast may recover quicker than the other. Around 3 months is when your breasts will start to take shape and show their final results. If after this time, your breasts still appear dissimilar, hard to touch and generally look unnatural, this would be a good indication to call your surgeon. Breast augmentation revision can be an option if you’re still not happy with the results after 6-12 months.
Shooting pains are being felt around out nipples
You’re likely to feel strange sensations and pain around your chest and nipple area as your muscles tissues continue to repair. Other common pains may appear in the chest and have back pain occur throughout the first few weeks. Generally, chest muscle spasms are expected to occur around the first three to four weeks after your recovery as the pectoral muscles continue to adjust to the implant.
Whilst the pains may occur for around 6 months after breast augmentation surgery, these should gradually become less frequent. If the pain continues severely and excessively for a continuous period, disrupting your comfort and sleeping patterns, it’s important to notify your surgeon immediately.
You feel bloated or constipated
It’s natural to feel extremely anxious after your surgery, developing discomfort in the digestive system and nausea. The body can also react differently to medication and the anesthesia used to numb your pain feeling. Pain feeling tends to come from lack of physical activity for the first few days of recovery, causing fatigue and bloating.
This feeling of constipation should only last for a few days after the initial shock that the body received from the operation. Regular hydration and taking reasonable precautions with your medication can help to alleviate this feeling. Any limited exercise available can also help with digestive problems, such as short walks.
If the pain persists longer than normally expected, it would be advisable to contact your surgeon about the problems you’re facing. There can be solutions available, even as little as adjusting your diet. These can be further discussed during your visit.
Be sure to stay in touch with your surgeon
Each individual patient heals differently after breast augmentation surgery, so you may not even experience these points. Whilst the majority of patients are happy with their results and heal as expected after surgery with us, there can be times when complications arise. Therefore, if you’re having some problems after your recovery be sure to contact us so we can discuss these issues and support you along the way.
Recovery Tips – Breast Reduction Surgery
Breast reduction surgery is just as invasive and significant as augmentation surgery, and as such, it is equally as important that you take the necessary preparations for your recovery. Studies show that patients that prepare for their recovery period are substantially more likely to recover swiftly and with minimal complications. They also tend to have the best overall result from their surgical procedure.
To help ensure that your breast reduction surgery recuperation is as smooth and straightforward, here are our post recovery tips.
Don’t be afraid to ask for support
There is nothing wrong with being fiercely independent, but there are occasions whereby a little support and assistance really is the best thing for you. This is particularly true after you have undergone a surgical procedure. Rest is one of the key elements of a good recovery, but this is something that is tricky to do if you need to do everything for yourself. If you can, make sure your significant other or a friend or family member is available to help you in the first 72 hours after your procedure. This could include all manner of tasks, from waking you for medications to preparing food for you or taking your children to school. If you are largely on your own, at least make sure you have people checking in with you regularly.
Take your pain medications as directed
Some people have a real aversion to taking pain medication, but since breast reduction surgery is invasive, it is unrealistic to expect that you won’t be in any discomfort in the days after your procedure. Your surgeon will prescribe you moderate pain relief and this should be taken as directed. Don’t wait until you are in agony before ‘giving in’ and taking your medication. Studies show that people who are in pain have a much slower rate of healing so you could only be prolonging your discomfort.
Finish your course of antibiotics
You will almost certainly be given a course of antibiotics to take home with you. These are a preventative to help keep infection at bay. However, many patients may start out taking them as directed and quickly start skipping doses. For proper protection against infection, make sure you finish the course.
Drink plenty of water
Water is the single most important thing that we can put into our bodies and it is particularly important in the aftermath of a surgical procedure such as a breast reduction. Initially, water will help to remove all traces of the anesthesia from your body. However, during your recovery it will prevent you from retaining too much fluid, reduce the risk of constipation which is common when on pain medications, and ensure your cells are properly hydrated and capable of healing.
Eat healthily
It can be very tempting to give in and eat all of our favorite unhealthy foods when we are feeling rough. However, it is important that you continue to eat healthily during your recovery so that your body has all of the nutrients needed to help you heal as swiftly as possible. Many people prepare for this by cooking and freezing nutritional meals in advance, which eliminates the stress of preparation but ensures that you still get all the goodness you need to get back on your feet.
Don’t spend all your time laying down
Speaking of getting back on your feet, it is crucial that you start moving around as soon as you can after your surgery. Any physical exertion will be off the table for a number of weeks, but gently and slowly walking around will help improve your circulation, sending oxygen-rich blood cells to the incisions so that they can heal. Regularly moving around will also reduce your risk of developing a potentially dangerous blood clot.
Don’t take your compression garment off too soon
Your breasts will be wrapped in a compression garment immediately after your surgery. This will help support your breasts so that the incisions aren’t stretched and can heal properly, as well as controlling swelling and inflammation. Although it may not be the most flattering garment in the world, it is important and therefore you shouldn’t stop wearing it until you are given permission by your surgical team.
The single most important thing after any surgery is to follow the instructions given to you by your surgical team. They have the experience and knowledge to be able to advise you what will help you to have a successful recovery, and what could cause complications and compromise the results of your procedure. If you would like more post recovery tips for breast reduction surgery, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our experienced team.
sore breast 6 months after augmentation
Top 6 Hazards of Breast Implant Surgery
By Diane Wedner
Reviewed: November 17, 2017
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Millions of women get breast implants to improve their body image or replace breast tissue after cancer surgery. In most cases, the outcome is fine. But some patients suffer problems from ruptured devices to a newly discovered, rare cancer. Here’s what can go wrong with breast implant surgery…
Many women think that cosmetic breast implants will change their lives, and often they do – sometimes in unexpected ways.
Beth McMurray knows that all too well. The 59-year-old psychotherapist from Birmingham, Ala., ended her love affair with her movie-star breasts after she suffered bouts of breast tenderness, an infection, fluid drainings and, finally, a deflated implant that shrunk her breast size from a C-cup to its original A.
“I have a lot of discomfort. I can’t raise my arm, it’s difficult to sleep, and I wake up in pain,” McMurray says. Her post-surgery problems began a decade after she underwent cosmetic breast augmentation. “Now, I wish I’d never done it.”
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After-effects of breast implant surgery may include scar tissue, leakage, infection, cosmetic flaws, loss of nipple sensation and, in rare cases, cancer.
About 22,000 implants were removed because of problems in 2010, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). But that hasn’t put a crimp in women’s desire for them. That same year, there were nearly 300,000 breast augmentation procedures, up 39% from 2000. About a third, or 93,000, were reconstructions for cancer patients.
Breast augmentation is a surgical procedure to increase breast size. Reconstruction surgery rebuilds a breast’s shape after a mastectomy. The two main types are: silicone breast implants, pre-filled with silicone gel that look and feel more like human tissue, and saline implants, filled with saline at the time of surgery.
“Silicone is the implant of choice,” says Kristi Funk, M.D., a Los Angeles breast cancer surgeon and founder of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. “All you have is skin, muscle and implant, whereas saline sometimes ripples under muscle.”
Some women also complain saline looks less natural than silicone implants.
“Before undergoing breast implant surgery, it’s important to read a lot, talk to surgeons and be informed consumers,” says Samuel Poore, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Know about the risks, and make good choices based on sound data.”
Here are 6 complications to watch out for:
- Capsular contracture
The most common problem, capsular contracture, occurs when scar tissue, or a “capsule,” forms around an implant and becomes so tight it causes pain. Scar tissue forms whenever implants are surgically placed under breast tissue of chest muscle.
About 25%-30% of patients with saline implants get capsular contracture within three years of breast implant surgery, according to a 2000 report by breast-implant manufacturers ordered by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
In a 2009 report by Mentor Corporation, a top manufacturer, about 8% of first-time silicone augmentation patients had severe capsular contracture up to three years after surgery, and 19% of revised-augmentation patients had it within three years.
With capsular contracture, implants usually have to be removed and replaced, “particularly if the breast is hard, painful and looks abnormal,” Poore says. “Don’t panic – have it evaluated.”
- Rupture and deflation
Yes, breast implants can rupture or deflate. This can happen during implantation or puncture by surgical instruments, but also from causes such as normal aging, biopsies or fluid drainage, even compression during a mammogram, though that’s rare.
Saline implants can deflate right away or over a few days, like a balloon losing air, according to the FDA. Your body absorbs the liquid and it’s harmless, unless the implant contains fungus or bacteria, which can cause infection.
“You go from having a breast, to not,” Funk says.
Silicone implant ruptures aren’t always as obvious, but signs may include hard knots or lumps around the implant or in the armpit, a change in size or shape, pain, tingling, swelling, numbness, burning or hardening of the breast.
If you experience any of these symptoms, immediately see your doctor. He may recommend removing and replacing the implant.
- Infection
It’s not common, but some women end up with a serious infection within a few weeks of breast implant surgery. Implants – like most foreign objects – attract bacteria. Because the devices lack their own blood supply, they can’t fight infection, says Susan Downey, M.D., associate clinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of Southern California.
Watch for symptoms like a fever and heat radiating from the breasts.
Infection-fighting antibiotics are deployed first for treatment. If they don’t work, you’ll need to have the implants removed and replaced after recovering completely from the infection. - Cancer
Breast implants may be associated with anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), according to new findings announced by the FDA in January 2011.
The cause of this rare immune-system cancer is unkown. It can show up anywhere in the body, not just in the breasts, according to the FDA. It’s diagnosed in about 1 out of 500,000 women in the U.S. each year, but occurs in the breast in only 3 out of 100 million women.
Because it’s so rare, doctors say women shouldn’t rush to have their implants removed.
“I would worry more about dying of a snake bite or a bee sting,” Funk says.
Still, plastic surgeons warn women with implants to be aware of any changes to their breasts, Poore says.
In most cases, the cancer was diagnosed when women sought medical attention for pain, asymmetry, swelling, hardening of the breast area around the implant, or masses surrounding it. They typically experienced these symptoms years after the surgery, the FDA reports.
One theory is that silicone, which has been found in scar tissue cells around the implant, triggers growth of infection-killing T-cells, says William Maisel, M.D., the FDA’s chief scientist.
Even intact implants may “sweat” silicone, and that may “chronically irritate the capsule and stimulate the lymph system,” Funk says. That allows cells to mutate, causing cancer, she explains.
To be on the safe side, see your doctor if a lot of fluid accumulates around an implant, or you experience swelling and pain.
“Some of the fluid and part of the capsule should be sent to a pathologist for analysis,” says USC’s Downey.
While more cases have been found in women with silicone implants than those with saline, the FDA hasn’t determined if they’re at higher risk – or if there’s a difference between breast augmentation and breast reconstruction.
- Changes in nipple sensation
In multiple studies during the last decade, 12%-35% of women lost nipple sensation within three years of breast implant surgery, according to a federal Institute of Medicine review of the research.
If a surgeon cuts around the bottom half of the areola, the procedure may occasionally damage nerves and ducts – and, rarely, cause nipple necrosis, or death, resulting in the loss of the nipple. Smoking compounds this risk.
Up to 9% of women reported heightened nipple sensitivity, improving sexual pleasure. That could be a psychological response to a woman’s improved self-esteem post-surgery, Downey says. - Implants get old
Breast implants don’t last forever. The typical shelf life is 10-20 years, according to the ASPS. Gravity also takes a toll on augmented breasts, just like natural ones.
“Sometime during your lifetime, [they] will have to be changed out, due to complications or dissatisfaction with how they look,” Downey says. “They almost all get replaced.”
Some women must have multiple surgeries to improve their breasts’ appearance, reposition the implant, fix scars or wounds, drain pockets of blood known as hematomas (by inserting a needle or tube through the skin), or remove a ruptured or deflated implant.
About 8% of women with saline breast implants have them removed within three years, and 12%-14% within 5 years, according to a review of past and ongoing studies by the Institute of Medicine. The removal rates for reconstruction patients were 23%-27% at three years and 28%-30% at five years.
About 33% of silicone-gel patients had at least one re-operation in which one or both implants were removed or replaced, at an average of 11.5 years after the original procedure.
And then there’s the cost. First-time cosmetic augmentation runs $4,000-$10,000, which includes each implant, anesthesia, the facility and the surgeon’s fee.
You’ll pay more to have the procedure done in expensive areas such as Beverly Hills and New York City, and it’s not covered by insurance, even if something goes awry later.
Breast reconstruction costs about $2,800 for the implants; $3,400 for tissue expanders; $5,600 for a back-flap procedure (using tissue from the back to reconstruct the breast) or $7,000 for a TRAM-flap procedure (using muscle, fat and skin from the abdomen); $600 for a nipple tattoo (which recreates the color and shape with a microneedle); and $1,200 for nipple reconstruction, according to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.
Insurance covers reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy – including an additional implant for the unaffected breast to make the two appear even, doctors say.
Re-operations sometimes cost more than the originals, doctors say. But some women opt not to replace implants after removal, and they may face breast dimpling, puckering or sagging. How to care for your breast implants
If you have breast implant surgery, here are some ways to safeguard your health:
Monitor breasts. Report any changes to your breast surgeon or primary-care physician.
Do monthly breast self-exams and get yearly physician-administered breast exams.
Continue routine mammography screening. Women with both saline and silicone implants should get an extra, third view in addition to the usual vertical and horizontal views, Downey says. But don’t worry unnecessarily, she adds. Implants haven’t been found to cause, or delay the detection of, breast cancer in women.
Get MRIs. Women with silicone gel-filled implants also should get magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) three years after surgery and every two years thereafter to keep an eye on possible ruptures and to detect breast cancer.