How Long is Breast Implants Recovery Time?

Dear Geneseo,Most of my patients are back to work in 3-4 days, however most sit at a desk.  The majority of implants are placed partially under the pectoralis major muscle or in the subfascial plane. The recovery from implants placed over the muscle in the subfascial plane is faster.   I you can go back to work in a "light duty" capacity, or you control the workouts and can avoid having to demonstrate or perform any upper body workout or activities that make you chest bounce for that period of time, then you can consider doing it over winter or spring break. Best of luck. 

Most of my patients take pain medicine for 0 to 3 days after surgery. Most of my patients are back to a desk job in 3 to 5 days. I caution patients to not use their arms for strenuous activities (like weight lifting) for 2 to 3 weeks.  Then they are cleared for full activity including strenuous activity.I have lots of students and lots of teachers who have a breast augmentation during their fall or spring break. A PhysEd teacher can instruct mostly with a whistle in the first 2 weeks!  Common sense prevents most problems.  Most patients comment that the procedure and recovery was easier than they expected. Breast augmentation remains a very high satisfaction procedure. Women at 10 years report a 98.7% satisfaction rate.  

Thanks for your question. As you would imagine the time period that most patients need to recover varies from patient to patient. Many of my patient are back to work within a day or two depending on the type of work they do. I recommend low impact activities for 4-6 weeks and then no restrictions after that. Factors that impact how long any given patient may take to feel " normal" could included : what size implants are placed, tightness of the breast skin starting out, plane that the implant is placed, previous breast surgeries, and surgical approach. All of these factors should be discussed with your plastic surgeon prior to surgery, to see how they may affect you. Good luck it's a great surgery. 

Returning to work after breast implant surgery varies depending on the type of job.  A nurse who is required to lift or move patients in her job may need a little more recovery time than a patient who works at a desk or computer.  We ask our patients to limit their lifting to less than 5 pounds for two weeks after the surgery.  At their two week post op visit, they are evaluated and may may be able to progress their activity at that point. Generally, activity such as walking or riding a stationary bike is fine at this point. The bigger concern is with the activity and lifting in the upper body.As a physical education teacher, I would tend to say you could return to work after a week if you are instructing the students and do not have to lift or perform push ups, etc.  If you can tailor your schedule to minimize upper body lifting for the first week after you return to work, that would be ideal.Best regards,

Hello!
Breast implant surgery leads to fairly easy recovery. You can shower next day and drive within days of surgery. The restriction is in lifting and upper body exertion - I ask my patients to wait 3-4 weeks before they return to upper body exertional activity. Lower body is fine within a couple of weeks, like a stationary bike or elliptical without arm movement.
Best of luck!

Breast implant surgery recovery time varies with type of procedure performed. In general wound healing takes 2-3 weeks and you can do most normal activities from second week onwards. When the implant is placed behind the muscle, it takes longer to recover and swelling takes few weeks to settle down. When the implant is behind the breast tissue, recovery is quicker. A good surgical bra helps with swelling in post operative period. People do light duties on phased return to work from 1-2 weeks after surgery.

Hello and thank you for this great question. My unique subfascial breast augmentation surgery allows for patients to return to work quicker. Essentially, is someone has a subfascial breast augmentation they can go back to work 3-5 days following the surgery. This approach to one of the world’s most popular cosmetic procedures that allows qualified patients with a minimally invasive, muscle-sparing breast augmentation that reduces both post-operative discomfort and recovery time.

Unlike standard submuscular (dual plane) breast augmentation, where the pectoralis major muscle is partially divided and elevated, this technique is based upon creating a pocket by carefully dissecting the pectoralis fascia (tissue covering the muscle) off of the pectoral-is major muscle.

The implant is then inserted into the pocket created underneath the fascia and breast tissue and is supported by a piece of bio-resorbable mesh which functions as an “internal bra.” It is important to note that this mesh is very safe, completely reabsorbed, and replaced by your own tissues over time. The procedure maximizes the aesthetic outcome by ensuring beautifully shaped breasts.

Thank you for your question.  The recovery time after augmentation is typically one week.  This is associated with the release of the pectoralis muscle to accomadate the breast implant.  Patients typically use some narcotics and/or Tylenol with muscle relaxants for the first week, and then possibly just Tylenol for the second.  I tell my patients no upper body exercise for 4-6 weeks, but walking is fine from immediately after surgery.  Sizing is performed in the office with the use of sizers, and 3D imaging.  Best to speak to a board certified plastic surgeon in person.  All the best,

Hi and thank you for your question.  The typical recovery time for a breast augmentation is less than 1 week but may be closer to a week depending on individual pain tolerance and type of work. Since you teach physical education, I would recommend you take the entire week to be safe. I find that my patients rarely need much pain medication for this type of operation. My patients are cleared to resume all activity at 6 weeks. I hope this helped. Best wishes!

During my consults for breast augmentation, this is what I tell patients to expect.   The typical patient will likely take pain medicines for about 3 days.  For a desk job ( or any job with little physical activity) a week should be more than enough time to take off work. If your job requires a lot of upper body lifting, you may need longer.  Light exercising ( no bouncing or heavy upper body work) can start at 3 weeks and I remove all activity restrictions at 6 weeks.  

Hello and thank you for your recent question!  My patients that have surgery on a Thursday are typically back to work by Monday.  Now they still do have a lifting restriction and exercise restriction of 3 weeks.  I also have my patients wear a compression garment bra for 3 weeks.  As far as worried about co workers noticing a difference I would recommend to start wearing a bra that may have a little more padding that way when  you make the transition it will not be as noticeable if at all. Best of luck!