What Can One Expect From Recovery for Breast Implant Revision Surgery?

In most cases of straightforward implant exchange (same location, same incision,little to no capsule work) then the recovery should be really pretty easy. A little sore at the incision and very little implant pain. You should be surprised at how good you feel. It will be nowhere near like your first experience, and in fact, you may want to do it several times a year!!!....just kidding....

Thanks for your question.For just a simple breast implant exchange,
your recovery should take just a couple of days.That being said, if you need a more involved
procedure like capsulectomy or capsulorraphy, then your recovery will be
longer.It really just depends on the
extent of your surgery.

Post-operative healing

Patients
will feel sore and tired during the first 48 to 72 hours following surgery.
During these first few days, the patient should engage in light activities,
refraining from lifting or raising the arms above the head.

Swelling
and bruising will subside during the first week after surgery and will be
controlled by pain medication. The initial surgical tapes will be removed a few
weeks after surgery during a post operative visit. Patients typically may
return to a work a few days after surgery (only a light workload during the
first two weeks). Showers are permitted on post op day #3 if there are no
drains.

Scars
will progressively fade throughout the first year following surgery.

Occasionally women are dissatisfied with their breast size
and elect to have larger breast implants. In the absence of severe capsule formation, this is often a relatively
simple procedure.The procedure usually
involves re-opening the incision, extracting the implant, replacing the implant
with a larger one and closing the wound.The
procedure is associated with minimal pain and short recoveries. Since the
muscle is undisturbed, there’s minimal pain following this procedure.Patients usually don’t require narcotics for
longer than 24 hours and are able to return to work the following day as long
as no heavy lifting is involved. If
you’re considering implant exchange, consultation with a board certified
plastic surgeon is appropriate.This
surgeon should be able to formulate a treatment plan that addresses your
concerns.

Post-Operative Healing following Breast revision varies from patient to patient and recovery recommendations also vary among different plastic surgeons - Best advice is to ask your surgeon his recommendations.
Below is what is typical for my practice.
Revision surgery is much less painful than your original surgery.
This is an outpatient surgery and you will probably go home in a bra or with only light dressings over the incision lines.
In my practice - Sutures are dissolvable but the ending knot is removed within 1-2 weeks.
Initial discomfort is easily controlled with oral medication. Light activities may be started in 7-10 days and return to work for light duty 1-2 weeks following surgery

Depending on your chest wall circumference, increasing your implants 100 cc's will increase you anywhere from 1/2 or 1 cup size.  This is a very small improvement.  You do not describe any other reason for wanting to have your implants redone.  If you want a lift done at the same time, that will add to the recovery as well.  However, if all they are doing is going through the old incisions, adding 100 cc's to your current implants or replacing them with 100 cc larger ones will have minimal recovery time.

Best of Luck,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.