While discomfort or pain after surgery is to be expected, women usually mention that breast reduction or breast lift surgery is a lot less painful than what they expected. Generally people comment that it's more 'discomfort or pain limited to the incisions', rather than pain within the breasts or over the chest.
How Painful Is Breast Lift Recovery? 2-3 days following their breast lift surgery, most patients report mild to moderate pain. The pain should ease off after that and your plastic surgeon can prescribe pain medication to relieve your discomfort.
Breast contour and shape irregularities. Changes in nipple or breast sensation, which may be temporary or permanent. Deep vein thrombosis, cardiac and pulmonary complications. Fatty tissue found deep in the skin might die (fat necrosis)
How long is the recovery after a breast lift? As with any procedure, the details of a breast lift recovery can vary from patient to patient. In general, most women can expect to feel well enough to return to work after 1 – 2 weeks, with the majority of their swelling resolving in about 3 – 6 weeks.
TYPICAL POST-OPERATIVE SYMPTOMS
Tightness in the chest region and stiffness; Tingling, burning or intermittent shooting pain: These are normal experiences as the skin, tissues and sensory nerves heal. Pain medication and muscle relaxants will help you cope with any discomfort.
You will be awake but unable to feel pain. The surgeon will make 1 to 3 surgical cuts (incision) in your breast. Extra skin, and sometimes some breast tissue, will be removed and your nipple and areola may be moved. Sometimes, women have breast augmentation (enlargement with implants) when they have a breast lift.
Even after the swelling subsides, the breasts continue to settle into their final shape for up to a year after surgery. If a patient also has implants placed during the breast lift, they may appear too high on the chest shortly after surgery, but will drop into a normal position over time.
A breast lift, or mastopexy, is performed as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia. The procedure typically lasts one to three hours. After one or two hours in the recovery room, the patient is discharged to home.
In most cases, patients continue sleeping on their back for at least 2 – 4 weeks after breast lift surgery to minimize discomfort. Some patients are able to resume side-sleeping comfortably after 1 – 2 weeks, though stomach-sleeping may remain uncomfortable or painful for much longer.
Swelling and general fluid accumulation post surgery will alter the appearance of your breasts. But after a few weeks of recovery, your breasts will begin to take on their final shape. This usually happens six to 12 weeks after surgery.
Breast lifts are considered minor surgeries, not major ones, but they still require downtime. After your surgery, your breasts will feel tender and sore, and you will need bed rest to recover.
Complications after breast lifts are relatively rare. The main three are bleeding, infection, and scarring. Your surgeon will give you instructions for preparing that will help lower your risk of complications.
Don't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk (including your children), as you could strain your healing breasts and cause swelling. Along the same lines, don't push anything heavy, like a stroller or a large grocery cart. Don't smoke after surgery, as it can interfere with your body's ability to heal.
In general, as a breast lift involves only removal of skin and a breast augmentation usually involves some work on the pectoral muscle, I think breast augmentations are more uncomfortable and take patients slightly longer to recover from.
Patients tend to think that they shouldn't move their arms after a breast procedure. However, movement is important for preventing stiffness. Most patients should continue to do most normal activities.
Breast lift surgery is an excellent way to raise the breasts to create a more youthful silhouette. However, like any other surgery, its results don't last forever. Skin continues to stretch as we age, and breasts gradually begin to sag.
How soon can I work out after a breast lift surgery? You can return to your exercise routine six to eight weeks after the surgery. You can begin light walking a few days after the surgery.
Use a mild soap and keep your shower on a gentle setting. Avoid applying soap directly to the incisions until they are sealed. Air dry. Avoid toweling the incision area to prevent reopening the wound.
As a general rule of thumb, there is no best age for a breast lift. However, we would like to make a couple of caveats. First, you should understand that it is important for a woman's breasts to be fully developed before she considers this procedure. Some women's breasts develop fully while they are in their teens.
What will my breast lift scars look like? As your incisions heal after surgery, your scars will initially appear as raised, red lines. They will eventually fade, flatten, and lighten to become even less visible.
Typically, a breast lift (medically referred to as mastopexy) reduces bra size by one cup. However, this is usually not the result of volume loss. When excess skin and sagging breast tissue are removed or repositioned, cup sizes are naturally reduced.
A common concern among breast lift patients is if they will lose nipple sensation following surgery. In almost all cases, any change in nipple sensation is only temporary and will usually resolve within 6 to 8 weeks following the breast lift procedure.
These incisions define the areas where excess skin, left from aging or sagging of the breast, can be removed. It also allows surgeons to define a new location for the nipple. Once the excess skin has been removed, the nipple and areola will be placed in a new position and the breast will be reshaped about them.