Is It Important to Use Sport Bra After Breast Augmentation?

Some surgeons use compression to reduce swelling, bruising, and/or bleeding after breast augmentation surgery. I believe careful surgery and control of all bleeding at the time of surgery is preferable to a tight wrap or surgical bra after surgery, as I feel even a small amount of bleeding can increase the risk of capsular contracture. Other surgeons may use a bra to maintain position, hoping to minimize the potential for implants "dropping" too low or "bottoming out" over time. I prefer to try to position the implants slightly higher than the desired final position, knowing that gravity affects 100% of patients, and that most if not all patients will experience some implant "dropping" as they heal and their tissues stretch and soften. I use an elastic band at night to help keep the implants in a good position and to help reduce the risk of implant displacement into the armpit or other unwanted position as you unavoidably move and roll in your sleep. I have my patients go braless during the day to prevent medial cleavage stretch (symmastia), their pocket closing down on the sides, and to allow implants to drop into their final desired aesthetic position. Once we are at the desired (or almost so, depending on how fast we get here) position, I discontinue the elastic band and have patients wear a supportive rather than compressive bra to help "keep them there." In general I am not a fan of stretch bras as they simply tend to squish the breasts centrally, potentially increasing the risk of symmastia ("uniboob"). Implant movement exercises are prescribed immediately after surgery to maintain the surgical implant pocket larger than the implant, which keeps the "feel" soft, and normal breast (and implant) movement when the patient reclines.

For now, ask your doctor what he/she prefers (and perhaps why?), and follow that advice. Good luck and best wishes! Dr. Tholen

Thank you for your question. I often recommend that patients find a sports bra that opens in the front and that is comfortable to wear. They can take breaks during the day and I also encourage breast massage after a week. It is important for your implants to move around and develop a comfortable space (or capsule) within the breast.

In the vast majority of patients, we don’t use a bra strap
or surgical bra in the post-operative period.
There are exceptions but these are rare.
In most cases, we place our patients in a compressive ace wrap dressing
which applies mild pressure to the area.
This helps minimize swelling and makes patients more comfortable. It also decreases the potential for displacement
of the new breast implants within the newly formed breast pocket.

When
we perform submuscular augmentation, we feel that the ace wrap dressing helps
to prevent superior displacement of the breast implants. This can occur with spasm of the pectoralis
muscles and result in loss of the inferior breast pocket expansion. When superior displacement of implants
occurs, a bra strap may be indicated.

The
vast majority of patients are switched to a sports bra one week after
surgery. They wear this bra for about 6
weeks and in most cases are able to switch to an underwire bra at that time.

It’s
important to realize that every patient’s situation is unique. For this reason, the management of
compression garments needs to be individualized.