How Long is Breast Implants Recovery Time?

Dear Geneseo,Most of my patients are back to work in 3-4 days, however most sit at a desk.  The majority of implants are placed partially under the pectoralis major muscle or in the subfascial plane. The recovery from implants placed over the muscle in the subfascial plane is faster.   I you can go back to work in a "light duty" capacity, or you control the workouts and can avoid having to demonstrate or perform any upper body workout or activities that make you chest bounce for that period of time, then you can consider doing it over winter or spring break. Best of luck. 

Geneseo,The short answer is: recovery from Breast Augmentation in my experience is commonly very easy.  In fact, my patients usually return to a desk job in a day or two and resume normal daily activity immediately.  This is with a submuscular implant and inframammary incision most commonly. Nevertheless, recovery does come with restrictions and you also do not have your final aesthetic look immediately.  Also, as you know, not everyone has a desk job...To expand, patients often think of recovery as how the breasts look, how they feel, and what kind of activity restrictions exist.  First, how the breasts look varies significantly and depends upon the type of breast tissue you have, the technique used, and the size and type of implant you select.  Many women with a reasonable amount of breast tissue to begin with (size B cup or larger), will often look extremely natural the day after surgery when they have chosen a modest size implant.  This is especially true in patients who have had children previously or who have soft, stretchy breast tissue.  On the other hand, young patients with perky, tight breasts that choose larger implants are commonly going to have high, tight breasts for a little while.  So, your anatomy and implant choice will be the biggest factors determining if people notice your surgery.  Of course how you dress and your posture are also big factors.  Second, how a patient feels varies, but as I mentioned, most patients of mine return to work very quickly and resume normal activity almost immediately.  Most patients are off pain pills by the day after surgery and some only take tylenol and ibuprofen.  In general, the larger the implant and the tighter the tissues, the more painful the recovery.  Finally, there are restrictions of activity after surgery.  In my practice, I allow (and encourage) normal daily activity immediately and return to work as soon as the patient feels up to it.  Of course, this is within reason and I do not want a patient overdoing it.  In general, I allow patients to resume low impact exercise at 2-3 weeks and high impact exercise and pretty much any other strenuous activity at 6 weeks.  

Good news! One week is more than enough time to recover from breast implants. My patients are typically back to work after just a couple of days—as long as their work isn’t very physical.  Even as a physical education teacher you should have minimal down time. Many of my patients workout faithfully and their recovery is faster than those who don’t exercise. It may be that their endorphins are helping them, but they use little (if any) prescription pain medication.  Most patients who have surgery on a Thursday are back to work by Monday, which was the case of a physician I recently cared for. Your real challenge (as with all my patients who love to stay fit) will be to dial back your own physical activity for a while. Our general guidelines are:  1 week until you can walk actively on a treadmill, and 2 – 3 weeks before heavier cardio and light weights. Good luck!

Hello!
Breast implant surgery leads to fairly easy recovery. You can shower next day and drive within days of surgery. The restriction is in lifting and upper body exertion - I ask my patients to wait 3-4 weeks before they return to upper body exertional activity. Lower body is fine within a couple of weeks, like a stationary bike or elliptical without arm movement.
Best of luck!

Breast implant surgery recovery time varies with type of procedure performed. In general wound healing takes 2-3 weeks and you can do most normal activities from second week onwards. When the implant is placed behind the muscle, it takes longer to recover and swelling takes few weeks to settle down. When the implant is behind the breast tissue, recovery is quicker. A good surgical bra helps with swelling in post operative period. People do light duties on phased return to work from 1-2 weeks after surgery.

Hello and thank you for this great question. My unique subfascial breast augmentation surgery allows for patients to return to work quicker. Essentially, is someone has a subfascial breast augmentation they can go back to work 3-5 days following the surgery. This approach to one of the world’s most popular cosmetic procedures that allows qualified patients with a minimally invasive, muscle-sparing breast augmentation that reduces both post-operative discomfort and recovery time.

Unlike standard submuscular (dual plane) breast augmentation, where the pectoralis major muscle is partially divided and elevated, this technique is based upon creating a pocket by carefully dissecting the pectoralis fascia (tissue covering the muscle) off of the pectoral-is major muscle.

The implant is then inserted into the pocket created underneath the fascia and breast tissue and is supported by a piece of bio-resorbable mesh which functions as an “internal bra.” It is important to note that this mesh is very safe, completely reabsorbed, and replaced by your own tissues over time. The procedure maximizes the aesthetic outcome by ensuring beautifully shaped breasts.

Thank you for your question.  The recovery time after augmentation is typically one week.  This is associated with the release of the pectoralis muscle to accomadate the breast implant.  Patients typically use some narcotics and/or Tylenol with muscle relaxants for the first week, and then possibly just Tylenol for the second.  I tell my patients no upper body exercise for 4-6 weeks, but walking is fine from immediately after surgery.  Sizing is performed in the office with the use of sizers, and 3D imaging.  Best to speak to a board certified plastic surgeon in person.  All the best,

Hi and thank you for your question.  The typical recovery time for a breast augmentation is less than 1 week but may be closer to a week depending on individual pain tolerance and type of work. Since you teach physical education, I would recommend you take the entire week to be safe. I find that my patients rarely need much pain medication for this type of operation. My patients are cleared to resume all activity at 6 weeks. I hope this helped. Best wishes!

During my consults for breast augmentation, this is what I tell patients to expect.   The typical patient will likely take pain medicines for about 3 days.  For a desk job ( or any job with little physical activity) a week should be more than enough time to take off work. If your job requires a lot of upper body lifting, you may need longer.  Light exercising ( no bouncing or heavy upper body work) can start at 3 weeks and I remove all activity restrictions at 6 weeks.  

Hello and thank you for your recent question!  My patients that have surgery on a Thursday are typically back to work by Monday.  Now they still do have a lifting restriction and exercise restriction of 3 weeks.  I also have my patients wear a compression garment bra for 3 weeks.  As far as worried about co workers noticing a difference I would recommend to start wearing a bra that may have a little more padding that way when  you make the transition it will not be as noticeable if at all. Best of luck!

Thanks for the question. It takes 4-6 weeks for your body to recover and return to daily life without any problems. I wish you all the best.