How Long is Downtime for Breast Augmentation?

Thanks for your question!
You will not need to be in bed. You do need to give yourself time to heal and recover. No lifting greater than 10 pounds for 3 weeks, and no vigorous exercise for 3 weeks. Speak to your surgeon for specific instructions. Best wishes!

Thank you for your question.  Recovery after breast augmentation doesn't have to be difficult.  Selecting an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon, who uses proper technique, is the first step.  The surgeon's liberal use of a long-acting local anesthetic in the OR will help make the first few days after surgery relatively pain-free.  Wearing a supportive bra post-op and taking it easy on activities that involve heavy use of the arms, chest, or shoulders is also imperative.  While complete subsiding of post-op swelling and final settling of the tissues surrounding the implants can take several weeks, most of my patients are back at work within a few days after surgery.  Return to the gym for gentle cardio, in a supportive bra, is possible after around 2 weeks, and unlimited activities at 6 weeks.

Recovery from breast augmentation surgery varies from patient to patient. We generally recommend that patients take a week off from work after this procedure. Occasionally, patients return to work even sooner, especially if they have a desk job.Patients aren't allowed to return to strenuous activities for at least four to six weeks. At that point, they're allowed to resume all of their normal activities.Each patient is unique and should be considered individually. Since you're a mother with small children, you might require some assistance in the immediate post-operative period. When all of these factors are considered, most patients don't think the recovery was as difficult as they had anticipated.

Thank you for your question. You definitely want to follow your own
surgeon's post-op activity instructions. This is a general guide I give
to my patients as to the recoveryWeek 1) Discomfort and tightness
level progressively decreases with each day. Swelling decreases a great
deal after one week. Most people return to work in some capacity.Week
2) Unlikely to need any narcotic support except maybe at night.
Swelling and tightness continues to improve compared to week 1Weeks
3-6) May need tylenol or ibuprofen for intermittent discomfort.
Swelling completely resolved. Tightness may continue as the implants
over an additional few months into their final position. As far as activity, here is a safe guide:1) No heavy lifting or strenuous activity for 6 weeks (a gallon of milk as a guide).2) Resume walking at a leisurely pace right after surgery (e.g. 2 mph)3) At 2 weeks, you can walk 2 miles at 2mph4) At 3 weeks, you can walk 3 miles at 3mph5) At 4 weeks, you can walk 4 miles at 4mph6) At 5 weeks, you can jog 5 miles at 5mph7)
At 6 weeks, you can resume all activities, but listen to your body and
use discomfort or tightness as a guide so you don't over do it. So
as far as the little ones, I would recommend having help for basic
needs like lifting into the car seat. You can cuddle with them while
you are sitting down, but you should avoid the tendency to multitask
with one child in your arms while you are busy doing other tasks.

It really depends on a few factors. Adequate pain control is likely the most important. Individual pain tolerance differs greatly. I find that women who have had children generally have less post-op pain, as they have a much higher pain tolerance. From a surgical point of view, there are several things the surgeon/anaesthesiologist can do to decrease your post-op pain. I generally perform breast blocks prior to making any incisions with a mix of short- and long-acting local anaesthetics. I have found this greatly reduces post-op pain. I also encourage patients to take the prescribed pain killers regularly every 4 hours especially for the first 24-48 hours. If you don't stay on top of the pain in the immediate post-operative period, it is extremely difficult to "catch-up". Most of my patients experience very little post-op pain after breast augmentation.Of course, the type of augmentation you have will also determine your post-operative discomfort. Larger implants, and subpectoral implant placement will also increase post-op discomfort. This doesn't mean you shouldn't get large implants, or place them under the muscle - you simply need to know what to expect. Many women also experience difficulty with sleeping in the first few weeks after augmentation due to the weight of the implants on their chest. This is more significant in back-sleepers.To answer your question about time off work, my experience has been that there is a huge range. I have patients that go back to work the next day (against my advice), and I have had patients take as much as 2 weeks off of work. It really depends on what you do for work, and how you feel. As for taking care of your kids, if your implant is placed under the muscle, it will be a few weeks before you feel comfortable enough to pick them up.As for scars, I tell patients it will take a year to see the absolute final result. Practically, however, by 3-6 months the scar will be very close to the final result. I suggest 3M paper taping, and have a specific scar massage protocol I use to help speed scar resolution.I hope this helps. Good luck!Sincerely,

 individuals postoperative recovery time will vary. There are a number of factors including individual tolerance to pain, location of the implant whether sub muscular or sub glandular, and technique used. Most patients require approximately 7 days to be able to return to work in about 2  weeks for return to normal full activity.

Downtime following breast augmentation is mostly dependent upon post operative pain due to muscle spasm.  Using rapid recovery techniques, which include early motion exercises, and minimal post-operative narcotics, most patients will have a quicker recovery with less downtime.  Typically, my patients shower the day following surgery and are up and about with light daily activity following surgery.  No aerobic activity for ten day and resuming full activity at three weeks.  You don't mention the ages of your children, but it would be possible to lift them a day or two following surgery.  I typically recommend that patients have another adult to help with childcare for a day or two following surgery.  After that, you should have no problem.  Good luck to you. 

SEE VIDEO BELOW BY CLIKING "MORE":
Many physicians recommend immediate post operative arm exercises to have patients return as soon as possible to normal activity. These regimens tend to focus on treating the spasm of the pectoralis muscle (similar to stretching out a torn hamstring muscle).
Discuss this with your surgeon.

Breast augmentation is a major surgery, and healing and getting back
to “feeling normal” does take time.  Most
surgeons recommend a post-operative recovery time of 6-12 weeks, and it can
take even longer for all the post-operative swelling to disappear and the
implants to settle into their final position. 
I would encourage you to be patient during the healing process, as
difficult as that can be sometimes!

I would say that generally most patients that have breast
augmentation surgery have a fairly quick recovery.  It is not uncommon for patients to return to
work in less than a week.  Most patients
are not ready, however, to go back to strenuous activity at this time, return
to the gym, return to heavy lifting or pushing prior to at least 4-6
weeks.  But, returning to light
activities such as going back to work where you are either at a computer or
working under conditions that do not require a whole lot of physical exertion,
then it is feasible to return after only one week of recovery time.