I’m writing this blog because I want to share my experience with breast augmentation and the recovery process.
I had my surgery on January 1st, 2020, and am now 2 months post-op. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on what it’s been like so far, as well as give advice to anyone who might be considering having this procedure done in the future.
As you may know, breast augmentation is a popular procedure that can be done for many reasons—to increase your bust size after pregnancy or weight loss, if you’ve lost breast volume due to age or other factors, or just because you want to feel more confident in your body. It’s also a fairly common procedure that women are happy with once they’ve had it done; however, it’s still important to proceed cautiously and carefully when considering this type of surgery because there are risks involved with any medical procedure.
2 months post op breast augmentation pain
Getting breast implants/a breast augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures. The risk of complication is low and the recovery period is typically straightforward.
If you’re considering a breast augmentation, what can you expect from recovery? Here is what the typical recovery period is like for patients that get breast implants.
Recovering From a Breast Augmentation
Recovering from a breast augmentation is relatively easy, there are just a few things to keep in mind.
Immediately Following Surgery
Since you’ll be coming out of anesthesia and will be on pain medication, you’ll need someone to drive you home after your surgery and stay with you for at least 24 hours. We cannot let patients drive themselves home following surgery.
Regarding medication, you will be on narcotic pain medicine for around 2 days following the surgery and NSAIDs (Motrin, Advil) are recommended for any pain after this time. You will be able to drive once you have stopped taking narcotics. Plan to take 2-3 days off of work and other responsibilities after your surgery. You will need this time to rest and recover.
Dr. Ortiz will send you home with instructions for changing bandages, cleaning incision sites, showering, and other post-op activities. He will also send you home with a prescription for pain medicine. Pain medication is not dispensed or held by North Raleigh Plastic Surgery.
Complications from breast augmentations are extremely rare, with the most common being infection of the incision site. Dr. Ortiz will discuss how to minimize the risk of infection during your consultations but if you think your incisions may be infected, call us immediately.
To lower your risk of infection, avoid taking baths, swimming, or using hot tubs for the first two weeks post surgery. You’ll be able to shower the day after your surgery.
You’ll have a post-op appointment with Dr. Ortiz approximately one week after surgery.
Up to Six Weeks After Surgery
Expect soreness, tenderness, and sensitivity during recovery, especially during the first six weeks post-op.
For six weeks following your breast augmentation, you will wear a compression garment (included in the cost of breast augmentation surgery). This helps hold the implants in place while you heal. At your pre-op consultation, Dr. Ortiz will discuss the type of bra that will be best for you to wear during your recovery.
You will not be able to exercise or do any heavy lifting and should sleep on your back or side during this time.
You’ll have a post-op appointment with Dr. Ortiz approximately two months after surgery. At this appointment, he will give you clearance to begin exercising again, if you are ready.
2+ Months Following Surgery
Around the six week/two month mark, the pain and tenderness should be gone. If your implants are still “riding high” on your chest at this time, it is completely normal. Around three months post-op, your breast implants should “drop” and settle into place.
You’ll have your final post-op appointment at the six month mark.
If you were advised by a doctor to take aspirin every day for your heart, you’ll need medical clearance to stop this regimen before surgery. You should never stop prescribed aspirin therapy without your doctor’s guidance. Doing so may increase your risk for a cardiovascular event.
Don’t Take Medications Unless Prescribed
The first two weeks of your recovery are generally the most important. It is for this reason that you must be cautious with the medications you take. The best rule of thumb is incredibly simple: only take those medications prescribed by our office or your doctor. This protocol ensures you don’t take any medications that might interfere with your healing.
Don’t Shower
We know what you’re thinking: showering is a part of good hygiene. But for at least 48 hours, you must avoid this common practice. Incisions need about two days to completely close. Getting incisions wet too soon after surgery can cause them to re-open, interfere with the healing process, and even lead to infections. Once you’re outside of the 48-hour window, you can gently wash your breasts – but don’t scrub or rub the treated areas.
Don’t Swim
Getting into a pool, lake, or ocean can expose your incisions to bacteria, meaning you may be vulnerable to infection. We therefore recommend you resist swimming for a bit and simply relax poolside or walk along the beach. You should likewise avoid jacuzzies and hot tubs to further protect your incisions.
Don’t Sit in the Sun
As you’re outside enjoying nature, you should not expose yourself to the sun. Ultraviolet rays can, again, interfere with the way your incisions heal. Even after you receive clearance to go swimming, you should use caution in the sun. The same is true for tanning beds. Avoid them until we give the necessary approval. Or, better yet, make a conscious decision to stay out of the sun and tanning beds from this point forward.
Don’t Engage in Strenuous Activities
This recommendation is important enough that we’ll likely repeat it a few times. All strenuous activities, especially exercise, must be avoided for about a month. You can and should go walking during this time to encourage strong blood flow throughout your body. But other exercises are off the table.
We’ll likely clear you to engage in lower body exercises after your first month of healing. Then, gradually, you can start to again incorporate upper body exercises.
Don’t Lift Heavy Objects
Most surgeries require that you not lift heavy objects for a while. Breast augmentation is no exception. After your procedure, you won’t be able to carry groceries, pets, or even your child for at least a few weeks. This promotes rapid, healthy healing and beautiful results.
As long as you’re watching what you lift, it’s also important you not raise your arms above your head. This means no reaching for objects or lifting your arms to get into a shirt. With this in mind, you should plan to wear button- or zip-up shirts for a brief time.
Don’t Drink Alcohol
A small amount of alcohol is, for most people, absolutely fine. But you can hasten your recovery by abstaining for a couple of weeks. Alcohol is known to inhibit healing by:
- Impeding the immune system
- Contributing to dehydration
- Increasing the risk of bleeding
Don’t Get Steamy in the Bedroom
It’s best to delay intercourse for a brief time after surgery. You and your partner may want to try, but we recommend you wait. If you do decide to be intimate, you need to wear a sports or surgery bra and avoid placing pressure on your breasts.
Don’t Eat the Wrong Foods
A diet low in protein and vitamin C can put you at greater risk for post-operative complications. Your body needs these nutrients to heal, and vitamin C is crucial to collagen formation. You should therefore choose wholesome foods during your recovery like:
- Leafy greens like kale and spinach
- Red and yellow peppers
- Poultry
- Eggs
- Greek yogurt
- Tomatoes
- Cantaloupe
- Strawberries
- Seafood
If you cannot enjoy a diet rich in these nutrients for health reasons, such as digestive issues, it’s important you speak to our office. We can likely recommend dietary supplements that will provide the nutrition you need without compromising your well-being.
Don’t Neglect Your Rest
We’ve mentioned multiple times that your body needs to rest after breast augmentation. The exact amount of time you need to heal will depend on your body, but most women can safely return to work after about one week.
what to expect 1 month post op breast augmentation
What to expect after your breast augmentation surgery
Small or large, round or narrow, side set, teardrop or asymmetrical, breasts come in any number of shapes and sizes. But for those who aren’t happy with the breasts they were naturally dealt, breast augmentation has long offered an opportunity to change them.
As one of the most consistently popular cosmetic procedures of recent decades, breast augmentation has come a long way since the experimental surgeries of the early 20th century and since the advent of breast implants in 1961. The operation is among the most recognizable examples of plastic surgery and has come to play a pivotal role in shaping the cultural understanding of the space for many years. Yet, even as roughly 200,000 Americans underwent breast augmentation in 2020 alone, confusion persists around its recovery process, and many patients remain unsure of what to expect after the procedure.
How long does recovery take following breast augmentation?
While recovery time can greatly differ depending on the specifics of your procedure, your health, and after-care, there is a general timeline that often rings true for breast augmentation.
“Depending on the technique used, recovery can be three weeks (with subglandular augmentation, my preference) or three months (with submuscular technique, which is much more painful and involves cutting your pectoralis major muscles and stretching them over an implant),” explains Karen Horton, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in San Francisco and ASPS member.
Is there anything you should avoid before surgery to minimize recovery time?
Contrary to popular belief, recovery actually starts before you even have your breast augmentation. Although patients aren’t at all limited in their physical activity in the days and weeks leading up to the surgery, there are certain medications and supplements that should be avoided.
“The main offenders for increasing bleeding and bruising with surgery are anti-inflammatories,” Dr. Horton says, referring to aspirin, ibuprofen, and the like. There are also a number of vitamins and supplements, like vitamin E, fish oil, ginkgo biloba, and garlic, that you should avoid for two weeks before (and after) surgery. “In concentrated forms, they can increase bleeding in some studies.”
What is the first week of recovery like?
As with any surgery, breast augmentation carries different points of recovery in the days, weeks, and months that follow. Immediately following the operation, rest and icing will be top priority.
“Ice is your best friend in terms of keeping swelling down and helping to control the pain, and that’s the process I do with my patients now,” says Anureet Bajaj, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and an ASPS member.
Drains can significantly speed up recovery time, as they remove wound fluid rather than forcing the body to absorb it, but in most breast augmentation surgeries, they are not needed.
And although it’s natural to think of bedrest as necessary in the first few days following surgery, Dr. Bajaj says this is not actually the best course of action after breast augmentation.
“I think the conception of being bed-ridden or on bed rest can be misleading because you really want to be up and about and walking,” she notes. “It makes you feel better because it keeps the blood moving. The more sedentary and stiffer you are, the more you almost freeze up, and the more painful it is.”
It may sound ambitious, but according to Dr. Bajaj, it should only take between three to five days to get past this first stage of recovery.
“Typically, with breast augmentation, most people should be able to glide within three to five days. And if you have a desk job, you should be able to go back to work within three to five days,” she says. “So, if things are done appropriately, it’s very reasonable to be able to do that.”
To be on the safe side, though, it may be wise to plan for up to a week.
“I recommend one week off of work for subglandular augmentation and longer if the muscles were operated on (i.e. revision surgery) or if the patient has a physically demanding job (firefighter, police officer, nurse, surgeon),” Dr. Horton advises.
How much pain can you expect?
The pain experienced after breast augmentation is subjective and will depend on a variety of factors, but it can be helpful to have a rough idea of what to expect.
“From what I remember, the pain and discomfort wasn’t like a sharp pain,” Dr. Bajaj recalls of her own breast augmentation. “I remember feeling like I had done 150 pushups and that my chest was just really sore. To me, it felt like muscle soreness after the biggest workout of your life, and that’s how I describe it to my patients.” She warns her patients that they will feel especially sore the morning after the operation and that when they first wake up, they aren’t going to want to move.
Many women who’ve undergone breast augmentation also report feeling some muscle soreness whenever they move or raise their arms in the days after surgery. “Your pectoralis is connected to your humorous, so any time you move your arm, you may feel some soreness in your chest,” says Dr. Bajaj. You also may experience a burning sensation around incisions in the immediate aftermath, but this should subside fairly quickly.
When can you return to normal activity?
It takes only about a week to heal enough from surgery to return to work (if an office job) and most activity, but there are certain things, namely exercise, that require waiting a bit longer.
“I usually tell patients they can start working out at about three weeks post-op, and that means legs and arms but no chest,” Dr. Bajaj explains. “I remember the first time I went running again, it was about two weeks after surgery, and I felt like my breasts were going to fall off my chest. So, I tell my patients that when they first start doing any type of cardio that’s really bouncy, that’s what it will feel like, and they might want to wear two bras.”
“I put my patients in a surgical bra that they wear for two weeks, and then after that, I tell them to wear any sports bra or bra without an underwire,” says Dr. Bajaj. “I don’t let them wear an underwire bra for about two to three months until the implants have settled.”
Generally speaking, it’s best to listen to your body and see what feels right. “There are no long-term restrictions after surgery – or at least there shouldn’t be,” Dr. Horton adds. “Some surgeons do recommend stopping using your pec muscles if implants are under the muscle, but really, how on earth do you do that?”
What kind of scarring can you expect?
Any surgery comes with a scar or two, and breast augmentation is no exception. But thanks to modern advances in technique and technology, they can be extremely minimal.
“They’re usually a fine line initially, and they’ll go through an inflammatory stage where they’re fine red lines, then they’ll fade,” Dr. Bajaj explains. “But most scars will fade by a year, and if they’re underneath the breast, it takes a lot of effort to try to see them. Most of my patients don’t even mention it.”