It is important to regularly wear a bra after your breast lift surgery has healed, and your compression bra is no longer required. This is particularly important in situations involving a lot of movement or strain, such as lifting weights. A soft cup bra to wear in bed can also help prevent drooping.
After any type of breast surgery, whether it is a breast lift with augmentation or a breast reduction, the patient must wear a supportive bra and follow specific post-operative guidelines. Is it mandatory to wear this supportive bra? The answer is yes.
A breast lift can give you a youthful, perky, and attractive breast position. It elevates drooping breasts more effectively than any other option. There's nothing wrong with going braless after surgery to show off your beautiful results in plunging necklines and flattering swimsuits.
Everyone recovers at different rates, and your unique procedure will determine your length of recovery. However, you should plan to wear your bra for around 6 weeks after surgery. You should wear it as much as possible (even while sleeping), but can remove it to shower.
In essence your bra strap should be very tight to pull your breast upward. For this reason we also recommend a wide shoulder strap bra as well as a wide strap at the bottom without an underwire.
The study queried these women five years after their surgeries, asking about their bra cup size before versus after breast lift surgery. Weight changes and other relevant factors were taken into consideration. The women reported an average decrease of approximately one cup size, for instance going from a D to a C.
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.
A sports bra will keep the breasts in place while exercising, but it can be too restrictive when dealing with post-surgery recovery. The breasts can swell a little and a sports bra won't leave any room for this.
Avoid strenuous tasks and bending over for the first week. In fact, avoid lifting anything over 10 lbs. for 6 weeks, as this strains your chest muscles. Avoid sleeping on your stomach for the first two weeks, so you're not putting any pressure on your breasts.
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.
surgical bra can be removed for few hours while taking showers. But it is advisable to keep it on as much as possible as it gelps in providing shape and fullness to the breasts.
Don't raise your arms above breast level for 10 days. And don't lift, push, or pull anything heavier than 10 pounds for at least 7 days.
We recommend our patients wear loose clothing that is easy to take off or put on. A simple zip-up hoodie or a flowing button-up blouse works perfectly for the first week. Zippers and buttons are key to easy on and easy off tops after breast surgery. For the majority of patients, you will receive a compression bra.
What happens if you don't wear compression garments after breast surgery? If you do not wear a compression bra following breast implant placement or stop wearing it before your implant settles in a new shape and size, there is a high risk of your implants dislocating from their position.
Surgical bras should have no seam and fasten in the front with a zipper or clasps. Your surgical bra should be snug but not too tight. You should be able to insert two fingers underneath.
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.
Sleep on Your Back
Particularly in the first few weeks after surgery, sleeping on your back, while usually wearing a surgical bra, allows the breasts to heal in a more comfortable and desirable position.
The main concern for women after a breast lift procedure is exerting too much unnecessary pressure on their pectoral muscles and damaging the incision sites. While staying active can help to speed up the healing process, too much too soon can put you at risk of complications such as wound breakdown and infection.
It can take as long as nine months to see complete results for some patients. Remember that breasts may heal at different rates. As such, they may look asymmetrical in the initial few months of recovery. By six months, you should be able to invest in some fancy new lingerie!
Lifting Your Arms vs.
Lifting your arms over your head can place strain on incision sites which in some cases can cause wound breakdown and delay recovery. This can worsen the appearance of breast reduction scars and damage the final results of your surgery.
The Bottom Line
Shapiro, there are no known health risks associated with not wearing a bra. “There is no 'wrong' answer,” Dr. Shapiro says. “If you find that you're the kind of person who's comfortable and confident without a bra, that's fine.”
If the incision was made in the crease beneath the breast, the patient should avoid underwire bras for three months to prevent irritation of the incision. As far as wearing the bra to bed at night, that is optional.
If you have had breast reconstruction you may be advised to wear a bra initially during the day and night after your surgery. Many women are concerned about finding comfortable and well-fitting bras following breast reconstruction. Your surgeon will advise what bra to wear depending on your type of reconstruction.