How Many Days Should I Take off of Work for Breast Implant Surgery?

Generally, I advise patients that they can start doing more intense physical activity at 3 weeks, and upper body strength exercises at 6 weeks after surgery. If you don't lift heavy things in your job or things like that, then you can probably return to work in three weeks or so  if your recovery is going well. However, you should ask your surgeon as they may have different guidelines.  

Each surgeon has his or her own guidelines for recovery. Typically, patients can return to light activity after 5 to 7 days. More strenuous activity may take 3 to 6 weeks. Consult with your board certified surgeon as he or she will understand the scope of the surgery and the specifics of you.

Most of my patients are comfortable to return to a desk job in a matter of days.   So if you have your procedure on a Thurs or Fri, you should feel pretty good by Monday.   But no heavy lifting or strenuous activity for 3-4 weeks.  I will clear my patients to start exercise as tolerated or resume heavy lifting in 3-4 weeks after their surgery *gradually*   The key word here is gradually.  You should be cleared to resume your activities without restrictions 4 weeks after your procedure.   Please talk to your PS about his/her specific recommendations.  Best wishes.

Dr. Basu

Houston, TX

Most of my patients have breast augmentation surgery on a Thursday and return to work on Monday.  However, I based that decision on what they do for a living.  If there job entails heavy lifting then they will need to take off more time.  However if the job is primarily a desk job than they can return to work sooner.  The wild card is also the pain tolerance of the individual.  Every surgeon has a slightly different protocol and you should speak with your surgeon about his/her protocol.

The only activities I would restrict a patient to after a breast augmentation would be not to lift greater than 20 pounds and avoid activities where the breasts bounce up and down for 6 weeks.  As long as you stay in a well fitting bra you should be fine.  YOu also can not drive a car when taking pain medications. It may be a little sore if you have to lift your arms up above your shoulders.   Atlanta Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Z

Your plastic surgeon will be your best resource when it comes to returning to specific activities after breast surgery. Having said that, most patients are able to return to it “desk job” within one week after the procedure. If you are using a blow dryer ( or use your arms extensively in other ways), you may benefit from additional time off. For example, you may wish to request an additional week...

 Best wishes with your upcoming procedure.

That should be fine. Everyone has a different response tot he pain. You should listen to your surgeons recommendations at the end of the day. Make sure they know what your plans are. They will guide you through what they think is ok or not to do after your augmentation. Best of luck!

I usually allow people to go back to routine desk work jobs within a few days to a week. Heavy llifitng and exertion jobs will be longer.

Thank you for your question.

Most of my patients who have their surgery on a Wednesday or Thursday will go back to a desk type of job on the following Monday. Most hair stylists will take a few extra days off.  They may go back to a light schedule later that week perhaps on Thursday or Friday.

Of course everyone is different but those are general guidelines which work well for most of my patients.

Best of luck.

Typically, I recommend five to seven days for recovery. You can go back on the 8th but I think you should book less clients for that second week. By week 3 you should be good to go.