You should avoid going braless before the six-week mark after your surgery. Dr. Howland requires patients to wear their compression bra for several weeks at all times except when bathing to aid the healing process.
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.
If you have undergone a reduction or implant removal and don't wear your compression bra you may end up with more excess, sagging skin around your breasts.
When Can You Sleep Without a Bra After a Breast Lift? A compression bra will be necessary for the full six weeks of your recovery – in the daytime and during sleep.
You will be advised to wear a compressive bra for two to three weeks post-operatively following breast implant placement. It should be worn 24/7 and removed only while taking a shower. It accelerates the recovery of your breasts following surgery and helps keep the implant in the correct position.
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.
Your Healing Time
Bartell highly recommends wearing looser fitting, more comfortable clothes in the first week after surgery. Do not go clothes shopping until your swelling has fully subsided.
It is recommended that you wear the surgical bra/ sports bra for 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week for 21 days. You may remove the bra to shower/bathe.
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.
We therefore recommend you keep this position for eight to 12 weeks post-surgery. Some online sources suggest four to six weeks are enough, but you will continue healing beyond this short window of time. To keep pace with that process, you should continue sleeping on your back for no less than eight weeks.
2-4 Weeks Post Surgery
Between two and four weeks, you will be returning to your normal activities, although some movements may cause minor discomfort. It is not uncommon to have itching as your incisions heal. Swelling should be noticeably reduced. You still need to remain in a soft bra without an underwire.
When you begin showering, take a shower every day to help keep your incision clean. Before entering the shower, remove your bra and the gauze pad covering your incision.
During your recovery, your activity level will be significantly reduced. This decrease in movement can lead to fluid retention, increasing your swelling and bloating symptoms. Without being able to engage in the physical activity you usually would, you may even recognise a small weight gain. This is completely normal!
You can take your first shower the day after your drain or bandage is removed. This is usually within about 1 week. Sometimes doctors say it is okay to shower the day after surgery. Do not take a bath or soak in a hot tub for about 4 weeks.
Typically, most reductions bring the cup size down one to two sizes, though in cases of extremely large breasts, more drastic results may be achieved. For example, a woman who is a DD but wants a reduction to reduce discomfort, especially during physical activity and exercise may be able to go down to a B-C cup.
First 2 weeks: You have to wear a surgical bra, which can be removed only during showers. After 2 to 3 weeks: You will be free to wear either a non-wire supportive bra, or a sports bra all the time. After 4 weeks: You would be able to skip wearing bras at night.
During the first three weeks following the breast reduction surgery, you have to wear your compression bra day and night, but in the second three weeks, you can wear a sports bra instead of a compression one at night. A sports bra is generally more comfortable and applies less pressure.
As far as wearing the bra to bed at night, that is optional. If the patient has undergone a reshaping of an existing scar tissue pocket at the time of the breast surgery, however, we advise that the bra be worn for six weeks at night while sleeping.
After six weeks, most swelling should have dissipated, and you should feel comfortable doing all of your normal activities. You should be able to engage in more strenuous activity as your motion will return to normal, and you can raise your arms as normal.
It is essential for easy and quicker recovery after breast lift and augmentation for the breasts not to move and promote good healing. Most patients can go braless after about six weeks, but it should be on special occasions and not daily to maintain optimal results.
After your breast surgery, we recommend using a strong supportive cotton front closure bra without an underwire. This is recommended after breast augmentation, breast reduction surgery, breast revision, and breast lift surgeries.
Once the skin in the chest area has healed and settled down, which may take up to a year, you can wear any bra. However, if you're planning to wear a prosthesis (an artificial breast form that replaces the shape or all or part of the breast), your bra will need to fit well and have enough support for your prosthesis.
Will I Lose Weight After a Breast Reduction? Yes, you will probably lose some weight after this procedure because you are removing fat from your body. The amount of weight you'll lose depends on how much tissue you remove with surgery. However, you shouldn't expect your operation to tip the scales.