Shooting pains- 3 months post op. Is this normal?

Thank you for your question.  I recommend that you be seen in person by your operating surgeon to ensure you have healed properly.  At around three months post-op, you should have most of the swelling reduced and your breasts should be settled.  Shooting pain is not necessarily uncommon as it is a part of the healing process.  Please follow up with your operating surgeon for proper pain management.All the best,Dr. ResultsMiami, FL

This is totally normal!It's common to have some residual nerve stretch or muscle pain.These pains will resolve over time...surgeons will vary on their postoperative regimen depending upon your implant type and texture but gentle massage and or Motrin like medication may help...If you have significant pain you may be overdoing your activity...would confirm with your surgeon.Best!drb

All surgeries interfere with normal transmission from pain fibers, the most common fiber in the human body.  When you add a foreign implant to the surgery, such as a breast augmentation, chin implant or artificial hip, etc., this increases your chance of nerve injury and random shooting pains for several months, or even up to a year after this type of surgery.With reference to breast augmentations, these pains tend to come from the side of the chest towards the nipple, but of course, they could be anywhere on the breast.  These random firings are a sign of nerve repair, and rarely, if ever, a sign of anything negative.  Normally, the frequency and intensity of these shooting pains decrease the longer you are in recovery from the breast augmentation.

Thank you for your question.  It is not uncommon to have altered sensations in your breasts 3 months after surgery.  The nerves in your breast skin can become stretched and irritated as a result of the swelling of surgery, and as they learn to accommodate to the implants.   This can cause several different types of feelings that tend to spontaneously resolve with time.  This may take up to 6 months to a year in certain instances.  Inform your physician of your symptoms, but hang in there, this should continue to improve.

Thank you for the question. Healing from surgery takes time. In the initial phase after surgery, within the first three months, there is a period of inflammation and scarring that must occur in order for you to heal. The breast implants can appear to be high, not in the right position and can have burning /shooting pain in the operative site. Over ensuing months these processes will subside and the inflammatory process gives way to scar softening and remodeling. The swelling will start to abate, the breast tissue will relax and accommodate allowing the implants to settle into their desired position and many of these "odd" sensations in the breast will subside. As the implants settle the nipples will appear to lift and the breast fills. These processes may occur at differing rates so that the breasts may not necessarily "settle" at the same time. I tell my patients that they will not see their final results for at least 6 months and some of these sensations may endure for up to a year.At this point I would recommend to continue close follow up with your plastic surgeon as they are in the best position to evaluate and treat you during your post operative recovery. This will allow you and your surgeon the chance to discuss your concerns and help allay any anxieties you may be experiencing. I hope this helps. Best wishes.

This is a very common question. Following placement of a breast implant the surrounding tissue stretch which in turn stretches the nerves of the breast. Stretching can cause some temporary damage to the outer layer of the nerves which will heal in time. While recovery is in progress patients often describe sensations such as shooting pains, electric shock, tingling and a prickly feeling. These sensations are quite typical and normally resolved within 3-6 months.

Lulu,a few of my patients also tell me about occasional shooting pains in their breasts which still occur even after 3 or more months following surgery. However, none of these patients has come back at one year postop with persistent pains. We think that the pains are caused by the fine nerve fibers that were stretched out by the  implants, so i recommend that they nourish the nerves with a B complex vitamin daily. Even if you dont take the B vitamin, the pains will eventually resolve.i hope this helps you.

Best to discuss this with your surgeon.The nerves that supply the sensation to the breasts must stretch to reach around the new implants, and that can cause shooting pains or feelings like electrical shocks. That typically subsides with time. Sometimes I recommend to my patients that they put a cloth in their bra on the sore side to press against the breast to relieve the nerve from some of the stretching.Review your symptoms with your plastic surgeon. He or she will be the best one to give advice.Below is a link to a patient's journey with a breast augmentation if you''re interested.All the best.