One Week after Breast Lift Surgery Avoid bending over, lifting heavy weights and raising your arm above the head. It is generally advised to take around two weeks off from work but you can sometimes resume working after discussion with Dr Carmen if your work is not physically intensive.
Breast Lift Don'ts
Prop yourself up on pillows or sleep in a recliner. 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.
While some gentle movement immediately after surgery can promote healing, too much strenuous activity can have the opposite effect. A high heart rate, high-impact movement, or too much strain on the upper body can increase inflammation and bleeding. Improper healing may require surgical correction.
Your final breast shape will take around six months to settle. All the markings are done with the aim of creating symmetrical breasts, but one side will often heal at a different rate than the other, and the final shape takes usually takes at least six months to appear.
Wear a compression garment or sports bra
Wearing a compression bra or sports bra following your surgery can help accelerate the healing process. These garments help to minimize swelling, improve blood flow in the area, provide support and comfort to the surgical site, and help to flush harmful fluids from the body.
When can you raise your arms after a breast lift? Avoid raising your arms for at least 10 days after the breast lift surgery.
Your breast lift incisions should begin to close and heal within the first 1 – 2 weeks after surgery, during which time it is important to keep the area clean and not submerge the incisions. Once they have fully closed, the scar should begin to fade from red to pink and ultimately to flesh or white tone.
After a breast lift most surgeons won't recommend going braless for at least the first 6 weeks following a breast lift. During this time, patients will be encouraged to continue wearing the recommended surgical bras throughout the day to provide compression that aids in the healing process.
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.
After a breast lift, you'll have some discomfort, swelling and bruising. Your skin may feel tight. These effects get better over time and last about two weeks. If you had drains near the incisions, your healthcare team will remove them a few days after the procedure.
Breast lift or reduction surgery, by its nature, is done to lift and reduce sagging skin and breast tissue. Over time the skin can become loose again, requiring additional surgery. Newly operated breast lift or reduction patients may start to droop again as soon as five years after their original operation.
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.
Changes in nipple sensation are typical immediately following breast surgery, regardless of whether it is breast augmentation, reduction, or lift. More often than not, this sensitivity returns to normal (or at least close to normal) within a few months of the operation.
You can wash your hair two days to three days after the surgery. Please make sure to avoid getting your incisions wet.
Keep incisions clean and inspect daily for signs of infection. No tub soaking while sutures or drains are in place. Leave dressing on for length of time prescribed by your surgeon. If your incision was closed with steri-strips, they will generally start to fall off in ~10-14 days.
Breast lift alone does not add fullness to the breast, and for this reason, some women choose to combine breast lift with the placement of breast implants for bigger and perkier breasts. After breast lift alone, the breasts typically retain a natural teardrop shape, with more fullness on the bottom.
If your breast was reconstructed using a flap of tissue from another part of your body, in rare cases some of the fat in the flap may not receive enough blood flow. That fat may be replaced by firm scar tissue that feels like a hard lump, called fat necrosis.
First, the techniques used for breast lifts and breast reductions are extremely similar. Therefore, patients can expect to lose a little volume during breast lift surgery. However, for patients with enough tissue, it is possible to redistribute this tissue to complement the new breast shape.
Wearing a compression garment after your breast augmentation or breast lift applies even pressure across the treatment area, preventing excessive buildup of fluids. The garment also helps your body absorb any accumulating fluid. Without it, post-op swelling can linger much longer than necessary.
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. Some women opt for a special surgical bra while others wear a supportive sports bra.
Dr. Howland requires patients to wear their compression bra for several weeks at all times except when bathing to aid the healing process.
You should begin massaging your breasts one week after your surgery to promote healthy and beautiful results. You do, however, want to wait until after your incisions have healed to be sure that you do not open the incisions, as this can lead to infection.
What can I expect after a breast lift? For the first 2 to 3 days after surgery, you will likely experience light to moderate pain, although this can be managed through prescription medication.
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.
Unfortunately, the skin may continue to stretch and the breast may continue to sag beyond this desired endpoint. However, it will not return to the position and shape that it started from before surgery. Tightening the breast skin forces the tissue into a smaller volume. It becomes more dense or firmer.