A Short & Comprehensive Guide to Breast Augmentation Surgery

When it comes to maintaining a youthful and attractive appearance, a lot of women will opt for breast augmentation surgery as a way to retain perky, gorgeous, and perfectly rounded breasts. Although not all women will undergo breast augmentation for cosmetic reasons (see mastectomy), choosing to do, regardless of the why, is a life-changing decision that will ultimately affect your self-esteem, and self-confidence. As with all surgical procedures, downtime is critical for ensuring that your body gets the time to heal safely and effectively. This means that there will be a few weeks where normal activities will be restricted and during this time, there will be some do’s and don’ts that you should be aware of. 

Here Is What You Should Be Doing During Recovery

• For those who are about to go into their surgical appointment, make sure that you have a responsible adult available to take you home and stay with you for 24 hours as your procedure will be performed under general anaesthesia.  Things will be foggy and groggy. 
• If you have children or pets, make sure you make the necessary arrangements to have someone take care of them while you recover. 
• Maintain a healthy diet.  Be sure to be aware of any vitamins and supplements that you are taking and that they are not potential blood thinners.   Some common blood thinners are Asprins, Advil, Fish Oils and Green tea.  We will provide a comprehensive list before your procedure. 
• Always sleep in a semi-reclined position on your back. 
• Plan to take anywhere between four and eight days off work, both outside and inside the home. The only chores you are able to do are ones that are considered “light” and have no heavy lifting associated with them.
• If you have been cleared to do so, massage your breasts daily as this helps prevent capsular contracture. 

Here Is What You Should Avoid Doing During Recovery

• Do not lift, pull, or push any type of heavy object within the first two-three weeks following your surgery. 
• Do not sleep on your stomach and do not sleep on your side, as this will impact your results. 
• Do not partake in smoking after undergoing breast augmentation as it negatively impact the body’s ability to heal up and it can increase your risk to post-surgical infections. If you are a smoker, quit four weeks prior to the surgery and abstain for up to four weeks afterwards.
• Do not wear underwire bras as these are restricting and can irritate your breasts. Instead make sure to wear the post-operative bra that will be given to you. 
• Do not get your breasts wet immediately after your surgery until the dressing has been removed. 
• Try not to worry about any scarring that occurs, it is quite common that during the first few months of recovery, the scarring will widen and appear to get worse. This is part of the healing process and will eventually become less obvious over time.

So, if you are considering getting breast augmentation surgery, the main thing to keep in mind is that the recovery time must be filled with proper rest, healthy foods, and adequate downtime from activities that would otherwise put a lot of stress on your body.