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Recovery Care After Cosmetic Breast Surgery

Recovery Care After Cosmetic Breast Surgery

What To Expect For Your Recovery After Cosmetic Breast Surgery

 

Today, there are a variety of cosmetic breast surgery options available to help improve and enhance the appearance of breasts. Breast augmentation using implants is used to improve the size and shape of small or asymmetric breasts. Breast lift surgery is used to lift up sagging breasts.

As with any surgery, breast enhancement surgery recovery takes time. It is good to be informed about what to expect after the surgery and the type of changes that may occur following the surgery so you can be better prepared for the recovery.

What You Can Expect During The First Month After Surgery

After the breast surgery procedure, you will most likely experience discomfort, bruising, and swelling. Your doctor will give you pain relief medication like paracetamol to help you feel more comfortable during the first few days. Be careful not to take aspirin-based medications as they may cause bleeding.

After three days, you should start feeling more comfortable although bruising and swelling will still persist for four to six weeks. Most patients’ swelling settled after a month and the breasts will become less uncomfortable.

During the recovery period, you should limit your movement and get as much rest as you can after the surgery. During the first few weeks, avoid bending over, raising your arms above the head, lifting heavy objects, or performing any strenuous activities that put unnecessary pressure and stress on the wounds as these will slow down your healing, increase the pain, and may even cause excess swelling and bleeding. Follow your surgeon’s instructions as closely as possible.

breast-augmentation-surgery-image

Your breasts will probably be sensitive to touch for two to three weeks and is likely that you will experience some numbness in the nipples and skin after the surgery. The numbness will gradually disappear over the next 4 – 5 weeks.

Avoid sleeping on your stomach for the first two weeks. Try to keep your wounds dry for 72 hours and most surgeons will advise their patients to take sponge baths until the sutures are removed. Dissolvable sutures (stitches) are frequently used. The stitch knots will require trimming. This is usually done seven to 12 days after surgery. If your doctor uses non-dissolvable sutures then these will be removed from the breasts after a week or two.

Following the surgery, you are required to wear a surgical support bra day and night. You may replace it with a sports bra if you wish after the first few days and this must be worn at all times for a month.

breast-augmentation-surgery-image

When To Return To Work

If you have a desk job and do not require strenuous activity then you are able to return to work after a week. But if your job is physically demanding, then it is better to wait another week before returning to work.

What To Expect After The First Month

Your breasts will probably be sensitive to touch for two to three weeks and experience some numbness in the nipples and skin after the surgery. The numbness should disappear in about six weeks.

The length of your breast surgery recovery period tends to be faster if you are in great health before your operation. You should stop smoking for two to four weeks prior to your surgery to reduce recovery time as smoking reduces circulation.  For most patients, it may take a month or more before all swelling and bruising disappear and the final breast lift results are apparent.

Breast lift surgery scar will be quite noticeable for the first few months, often appearing pink and firm. The scars will improve and fade into thin white lines over the next several months, but will never go away completely.

When To Return To Exercise Regime

You can resume light activities after 3 – 4 weeks but strenuous exercises like swimming and aerobics are best to defer until four to six weeks after your cosmetic breast surgery.

Post Surgery Care Guide

To promote healing and prevent infection, it is important that you maintain a balanced nutritional diet and ensure adequate hydration. To allow proper healing and to achieve optimal cosmetic results, it is essential that you follow your plastic surgeon’s instructions and care guide during the recovery phase.

Thereafter, to maintain the beautiful appearance of your breasts, long-term proper care of your implants is also important. Any time you need clarification or have a question, do not hesitate to contact your breast implants plastic surgeon or any of his or her clinic staff to assist you.

Breast Implants Overview

Breast Implants Overview

Breast Implants Explained

Learn all about breast (boob) implants – the types of breast implant, cost of implants,  silicone breast implant vs saline breast implant, before and after breast implant here in this article.

Types of Breast Implant:

In the market today, there are two types of materials used to fill breast implant shells – silicone and saline. Each implant type has its own advantages and disadvantages. Your breast implant plastic surgeon can explain to you and advise you which type of breast implant material is more suitable for you which is based on your individual goals and desired outcome.

Silicone Breast Implant

One of the advantages of silicone breast implants is that it tends to give a more natural look and feel resulting in natural breasts as compared to saline breast implants. This is because silicone gel is more similar in consistency to our actual breast tissue. It is less common to have the rippling effect that could occur with saline implants.

These advantages make it a popular choice among thinner women or those who want reconstructive breast surgery.

One of the disadvantages of silicone gel breast implants, as compared to saline implants, is that a rupture will most likely go undetected. In the event that a silicone implant ruptures, the silicone gel can escape the implant but stay within the pocket of tissue keeping the implant in place, thus making it difficult to detect a rupture.  Another disadvantage of silicone breast implant is that it came pre-filled and requires a larger incision for the insertion.

 

Saline Breast Implants

Saline is a sterile solution of salt and water. In the event of a saline implant ruptures, it is immediately evident that as the saline solution escapes the plastic lining quickly and the implant will collapse. And our body can take in the saline solution without any harmful effects thus making the biggest advantage of saline implants vs silicone is their safety.

While some people believe that silicone breast implants are softer and feel more natural, the latest saline implants are soft and very durable.

picture of post breast implant

The main disadvantage of saline implants is the rippling effect that could occur with saline implants as they reveal ripples in their lining more easily as compared to silicone implants, thus making them less popular with reconstructive surgery patients, less sought after by thinner women who do not have a lot of breast tissue to be placed over the implants and women who have subglandular placement of the breast implants.

Nevertheless, both silicone and saline breast implants offer their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. The ultimate decision as to which type of breast implant is preferable depends entirely on your own needs and goals.

 type of breast implant image

Cost of Breast Implants

The cost of saline implants is much lower than silicone, which may sway some patients who are concerned with breast augmentation costs.

The breast augmentation cost is associated with these components:

  • Surgeon’s fees
  • Anesthesiologist’s fees
  • Cost of breast implants
  • Hospital or facility fees
  • Cost of prescription and pain medication
  • Necessary medical tests
  • Post-surgical garments and other expenses

Overall, there is no one fixed price for breast implant surgery as it will vary from one patient to another and is determined by various factors.  There are three major costs associated with breast augmentation that, if reduced greatly should raise some red flags:

Surgeon’s Fees

Most board-certified plastic surgeons are unable to reduce their fees drastically because of the need to continue investing in the latest technology, meeting their continuing education requirements as well as the high costs of maintaining their practices.

Extremely low surgeon fees might indicate that a surgeon is not board certified or that he or she is trying hard to fill an empty operating room schedule.

Anesthesiologist’s Fees

Just like in the case of surgeon’s fees, extremely low anesthesiologist’s fees could indicate that you might be dealing with an undertrained and/or one who is not board certified. It could also indicate that the quality of the anesthesia being used is substandard. You would not want to be put at any unnecessary risk in either event.

Facility Costs

You will want to be sure that your breast augmentation procedure is done in a facility that met stringent standards of safety, sterilization, and competence of staff. Meeting these standards could be expensive, which means the cost of a certified facility is generally going to be higher than that of a non-certified facility.

You will want to be wary of plastic surgeons who are charging too little for breast augmentation. At the same time, you would not want to engage surgeons who charge exceptionally higher than their competitors for the procedure. Some surgeons charge a super high price with the desire to reflect and enhance their reputations as the “elite” practitioners. Sometimes, these surgeons do produce excellent results, but you should not assume that they are better skilled or experienced than surgeons whose prices fall within the mid-range.

For more information about breast implant surgery, schedule an appointment with a certified plastic surgeon or visit WC Ong Plastic Reconstructive Surgery at www.wcongplasticsurgery.com.sg

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