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Does Wearing a Bra Protect Breast Implants from Bottoming Out?

asked 2 years ago by liezle14 in Philippines
Latest answer by Armando Soto, MD
Question viewed 6,913 times
Tags: breasts, bottom out

Do you have to wear a bra after breast augmentation for a certain period of time? Does it help keep your implants from bottoming out?

15 answers to Does Wearing a Bra Protect Breast Implants from Bottoming Out?

Bras and Bottomed out Breast Implants

Hi there- While I do believe that a good support bra is important after augmentation surgery (especially when implants are placed under the chest muscles), I don't think that the bottomed-out appearance, where there appears to be excessive skin showing between the fold under the breast and the nipple, can be prevented by using one. The primary cause of a bottomed out appearance would be violation or lowering of the inframammary fold structures (either deliberately or inadvertently) at the... more

Armando Soto, MD
Orlando Plastic Surgeon

www.DrArmandoSoto.com

Bottoming out of breast implants usually caused by implant placement

It is important to wear a support bra after breast implant surgery, but usually I have my patients go bra-less after the first day or so. Bottoming out of implants can happen if you have very thin skin with insuficient dermal elastic tissue. However, wearing a bra 24/7 is impractical and probably won't help if you are going to eventually bottom out. If you have good skin and your implant is placed properly, then you should not bottom out. The reason that I have patients go bra-less the... more

Brooke R. Seckel, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

www.drseckel.com

Bras provide support

Yes - a bra will help prevent your implants from "bottoming out". The main issue is your choice of implant size. If you chose very large implants, they will have more of a chance of dropping than moderate sized implants. A bra will help with either implant, as the elastic support of the bra will prevent the skin from feeling all of the stretch caused by gravity and the implants.

Michael A. Bogdan, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon

Wearing a bra after breast augmentation

Wearing a bra can help support the skin envelope holding up the implant. So, I would recommend wearing one as much as you can during the day. Also, working out may stress the implants and cause the skin to stretch out faster. Therefore, make sure you have excellent bra support while doing any aerobic activity.

Jeffrey E. Schreiber, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

www.BaltimorePlasticSurgery.com

Use of a bra after breast implant enlargement surgery

I do not necessarily believe that bras prevent bottoming out but when I perform a repair of a breast that has bottomed out or repair a breast implant that falls to the side, I will recommend that patients wear a bra 24/7 to support and reinforce the capsulorrhaphy for a minimum of 3-6 weeks

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Breast implants and bottoming out wardrobe

Bra's after breast augmentation generally speaking are for support. They help support the weight of the implant to offload the newly operated breast tissue. They can support bandages in place, if they were used. They support the patient emotionally so that they feel that their newly enhanced breasts are stabilized and seated motionless where they were assigned.The operation is what places the bra in the correct position, not 'medical grade' undergarments. The patient's tissue response... more

Ricardo A. Meade, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon

Time, weight and gravity are factors which lead to bottoming out

In most cases a bra or any other external garment will not make much difference in the final outcome. The quality of the patent's tissue is the most important feature followed by the size of the implant. Too large of an implant in a patient with poor tissue quality will eventually lead to an implant that bottoms out.

Jeffrey Zwiren, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Wearing a bra helps protect breast implants from bottoming out

Bras are meant for comfort and resist sheer gravity. It will not stop them from drooping, BUT the more you protect them gravity, stretching and bouncing, the longer it would take gravity and aging to bring about dropping.

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Bras and bands after augmentation help ensure a good result

We favor the use of a support bra and a compression band over the breast for two weeks after augmentation, and have patients wear them day and night for the first two weeks. Other surgeons will have their own routine. We find that the bra will help reduce swelling and reduce discomfort. The bra is used for only these reasons, not to hold the implant in position or prevent bottoming out. The breast band pushes the implant into the bottom of the pocket and places pressure on the lower half... more

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

www.peterejohnsonmd.com

Bras and breast support

A bra is a matter of comfort. I do not thnk that a bra will prevent sagging of the breast with an implant for the long run. Look around , the older the female the more their breasts sag.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Do bras prevent implant bottoming out?

I don't think that anybody completely understands why the distance between the nipple and breast fold stretches out in a woman with breast implants. I have some women who've had pregnancies after implants, never wear a bra and still look like they did a week after surgery. But more often, women have the misconception that implants will eliminate the need to wear a bra. If you think about how women's bodies change with age, pregnancy, weight gain/loss, illness, you realize that gravity... more

Lavinia Chong, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

Bra helps to support the breast

Proper implant placement will prevent bottoming out , not wear bra. Wearing bra is important to decrease sagging of the heavier breast post augmentation. It is important to wear supportive bra especially when you exercise.

Kamran Khoobehi, MD
New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Bottoming-out caused by multiple factors

We do not have any controlled studies to give you the scientific answer to your question. Every surgeon will have their own reasons and protocol for support of the implants after surgery. I am particularly concerned about larger implants in ladies that bounce during activities like running, motorcycle riding, horse riding etc. Your own genetic tissue quality also plays a role in bottoming out. The larger the implant the more weight it puts on the tissue. The surgical creation of the... more

Marcus L. Peterson, MD
Saint George Plastic Surgeon

No one knows for certain

Although we have patients wear a support bra for 3 weeks it has never been proven to be needed. There are certain things we do that appear to make sense. I have never been able to correlate bra use to bottoming out. Patient who bottom out have worn bras as much as patients who do not bottom out. Bottoming out is probably related to two factors:technical factors as to how the surgery was done and possibly the size of the implants and secondly, patient factors related to the inframammary fold. more