Breast Reduction and Lift Recovery Time

Every person heals a bit differently, but for the most part you can expect to get back to exercising within 4 weeks. You really want to make sure you have enough time to heal from this surgery, the worst thing you can do is rush a recovery. You need a good amount of time to make sure you heal before you put your body through strenuous activities. Here are some things you can expect after surgery: first few days you must wear a bandage or special surgical bra. For the first two weeks you will experience swelling and bruising, and at about 1-2 weeks your stitches can be removed. You can return to work or school within one to two weeks depending on your own personal recovery. Now, for the next few months after surgery you should be very gentle with your movements and activities, as your breasts are still very tender. I would recommend no exercise at least 4 weeks, but please talk to your doctor, he will monitor you and let you know how you are doing and when you are ready to start training. Full recovery take anywhere from 6mo-1yr. The best advice I can give you is to talk to a few board certified plastic surgeons doctors for advice, let them know what you need so that he/she may set some reasonable expectations for the both of you. Good luck!

Thank you for your question.  In my practice, patients typically resume any exercise and physical activity roughly four weeks after their breast reduction procedure.  While most patients feel back to their normal selves within 24-72 hours and return to work and school shortly thereafter, I do not permit my patients to resume exercising for at least four weeks as this can interfere with the healing process and increase a patient's risk for post-operative complications.  The last thing I want any of my patients to do is rush their recovery.  I have my patients wear a light weight compression sports bra for four weeks as well, to help reduce some post-operative swelling and comfortably hold everything where it is supposed to be without irritating the patients' incisions.  I would strongly recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon who specializes in breast reduction procedures.  Each surgeon has their own specific post-operative protocols and you may find some variation among surgeons as to when they allow their patients to resume normal physical activities.  Keep in mind that recovery is almost as important as the surgery itself, and you do not want to compromise your final results to get back to the gym a few days sooner.  I hope this helps!

Breast reduction is one of the most satisfying of all plastic surgery procedures for the patient  when it is done skillfully. Breast reduction recovery usually takes 4 weeks.

In younger patients who are fit physically and physiologically it can take less time.

For a few days after surgery you may need some pain med to control minimal pain.

You can go back to normal exercising in six weeks.

Your surgeon can help you have a shorter recovery if smaller incisions are used to perform the procedure.

Hope this was helpful.

Dr. Sajjadian

Thank you for your question!
Many patients feel great after having breast reduction surgery, with very little pain. You will have some restrictions. No lifting greater than 10 lbs or vigorous activity for 3 weeks, Reach out to your surgeon for his/her specific instructions. Best wishes!

Hi there, thank you for this great question. Post-operative bras I think are so important. I use surgical bras on all of my breast surgery patients. Typically my patients will use a surgical bra 1-2 weeks.. Sports bras are fine as early as 1-2 weeks, if people like it’s fine. After that, you can pretty much wear anything else.

Hello and thank you for your question! Every surgeon will provide their version of the post operative instructions which typically include healing time and when you can resume to regular activities. How you care for yourself during the first 3-6 weeks can really affect how you heal! The typical recommendation is waiting 6 weeks to fully resume to normal activity to include swimming, working out, lifting anything greater than 10lbs. If you don't follow your post operative instructions, you could end up with complications and it can take up to 6 months to heal depending on complications. Most people find themselves back at work (depending on how physically demanding their job is) in 3-6 weeks. Hope this helps!

Hello and thank you for the question. A breast lift procedure has a usual recovery time of about 6 weeks. Be advised, this timeline will vary from doctor to doctor and patient to patient.But generally speaking most patients only need to avoid heavy lifting and physical activity for about a month. At 4 weeks post-op most patients are good to start exercising to some degree. After about 45 days most patients are good to exercise without limitations. Best of luck on your procedure!Dr. Miguel Mota

The best first step is to check with your surgeon about his personal recommendations, because they may vary slightly depending on how he performs the surgery.  I usually recommend that pt's avoid lifting greater than 20 lbs for 4-6 weeks and that they avoid strenuous lower body exercise for 3 weeks, but they can do light normal activity the night of surgery.  Therefore, if you are doing any heavy lifting you should get someone to give you a hand. Most patients can make it back to non physically taxing work at a week after surgery.  That being said you have to know yourself and be honest with yourself.  If you are very tough and bounce back right after other surgeries or major events, then you will likely do very well afterwards.  If you know at heart that you really don't like pain and it is harder for you to bounce back after things then you will take a little longer to recover.  Pain is a very subjective experience and differs from person to person dramatically.  I can do the exact same breast reduction on two different patients on Thursday and one is back to work on Monday a few days later and another one may still be moving slowly two weeks later.  If you are resilient and have an uneventful surgery you will likely be able to get back to work or school in a week after surgery and running in 3 weeks but you will likely still be a little sore when doing certain movements and somewhat fatigued. Some really motivated patients have surgery on Wednesday or Thursday and are back to work on Monday, but most patients take at least a week off.  Best of luck on your journey. 

I am a Plastic surgeon in London and thank you for your question. This is very surgeon and patient dependant. My patients are usually dressing free at two weeks. They remain in a sports bra for 6 weeks after which they can resume all forms of exercise. Between 2-6 weeks my patients are allowed gentle exercise in a sports bra.

I understand your hesitation to spend too much time off your feet, especially as an athlete. However, a strong recovery period is necessary to achieve ideal results. Plan to spend about 2 weeks abstaining from any sort of exercise beyond light walking. At the 2-week mark, you should be able to start low-impact exercise that uses your lower body, such as riding a stationary bike. In general, wait for the 1-month mark before you return to high-impact exercise and contact sports. 

Thanks for your question. Generally I have my patients refrain from physical activity for 4 weeks after surgery. There is a lot of healing that goes on in the 4 weeks after surgery and resuming exercise too soon could jeopardize a good result. Generally speaking after 4 weeks you should be able to resume all activity. Best of luck!