Essentially, you'll need to sleep in an elevated position after breast augmentation surgery for at least one to two months (around six weeks for the majority of patients). The reason is that this position helps to reduce swelling, largely by taking the pressure off the incision areas and the implants themselves.
Sleeping in a recliner for the first few nights after your procedure (or with pillows propping up your head and torso) is ideal for reducing the swelling of your breasts and soreness. It's also easier to get up without using your upper body muscles. Elevating your upper body encourages scar tissue to form and heal.
Simply put, sleeping on your back keeps your breasts in an optimal position for healing. 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.
SLEEPING ON YOUR BACK – ELEVATED!
Keep your upper body elevated at a 30 to 45 degrees angle while on your back further to reduce any swelling and pain after your boob job. This allows your blood to circulate away from your tender new breasts.
This helps minimize swelling and avoids irritating your healing incisions. You can sleep in a recliner or propped up on large pillows. You might find u-shaped pillows or pillows with “arms” helpful to prevent yourself from rolling over while you sleep.
One question I hear a lot from facelift patients is “how long do I have to elevate my head after facelift surgery?” While sleeping on your back is a must, keeping your head elevated for the first 2 to 4 weeks is equally important.
Hematoma: Exercising before you have healed enough can cause a tear in your breast tissues, which may lead to a pocket of blood called a hematoma.
Complete Rest: 2 Days
You don't require strict bed rest after breast augmentation. In fact, it's important for you to get up and walk around to help blood circulation and expand your lungs.
Sleeping on your side or stomach immediately after breast reconstruction is not permitted. These positions put unnecessary pressure on your healing breast tissue and incisions.
Dr. Howland requires patients to wear their compression bra for several weeks at all times except when bathing to aid the healing process.
We recommend sleeping on your back and a little elevated (like in a recliner chair) for the first 3 weeks after surgery. Gravity in this situation pulls the swelling downward and away from the implants. If you sleep flat then the excess fluid does not drain and the swelling will persist.
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.
If you stop wearing the surgical bra before the recommended time provided in your surgeon's aftercare plan, you may notice that it takes longer for your incision to heal. Compression bras increase blood flow to the surgical site, flooding the area with nutrients and proteins to boost cell renewal and speed up healing.
In the first 1 to 2 weeks, you can use your arm normally up to shoulder height for light activities, such as face washing, hair brushing and eating. But avoid lifting your arm above the height of your shoulder. Don't lift anything heavy, but you can use your arm to lift a cup of tea.
This cotton surgical bra is worn for approximately 3 to 4 weeks. After that, patients are encouraged to wear any bra that is comfortable provided that it has no underwire. Underwire bras may be worn 6 to 8 weeks after surgery, once the incisions have healed sufficiently.
After the surgery, your breast implants will feel high set and hard. These are not the results of the procedure. The softening process or fluffing lasts anywhere between eight to 24 weeks. Any longer than this will require medical intervention.
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.
In general, patients should expect breast implants to settle within 6 weeks to 3 months. And in reality, breasts progressively look more natural over many months. Different factors affect the speed of this drop and fluff process, including: Tight skin before surgery.
The Best Sleeping Position After Breast Augmentation
Typically, your best option is to sleep on your back with your upper body slightly elevated on pillows or in a recliner. This position reduces fluid buildup, prevents excess pressure on your chest, and minimizes stress or irritation around your incisions.
Your breast implants may appear to be bigger or fuller once they've dropped to a lower, more natural-looking position on your chest and "fluffed" into a rounder and softer shape. Changes in the size or shape of your new breasts after augmentation can also occur as swelling and tightness subside.
Breast augmentation incisions should be fully closed in 2 – 4 weeks.
The three phases to healing are the inflammatory stage, the proliferative stage and the remodelling stage. The inflammatory stage begins immediately and lasts a few days. During this time, the bleeding stops and white blood cells come to the site and fight any infection.
It's normal to have some discomfort after undergoing breast augmentation surgery. But which day is the most painful? Research suggests that the first 24 hours post-surgery may be the most challenging for women, but there are ways to make the process as seamless as possible.
It can be due to the anesthesia drugs or pain medication, which can slow down one's bowels. A lack of movement due to the fact that patients' activity is generally limited for some time, can also contribute to this as well. Overall, slow digestion can cause both stomach bloating and constipation.
You may feel sore for 2 to 3 weeks, and you'll likely have a lot of swelling. You may have a pulling or stretching feeling in your breast area. You can expect to feel better and stronger each day, although you may need pain medicine for a week or two. You may get tired easily or have less energy than usual.