Thank you for your question. The recovery time varies from patient to patient and depends on many factors, including how much surgery is required, the size of implants used, stretching of the skin, and a person's natural pain threshold. As far as returning to work, most can return with a few days, depending on their job requirements and whether its a sedentary versus physically demanding profession. Best to seek an in person examination with a board certified plastic surgeon who can address your concerns, and give a more realistic recovery time after listening to your desired outcome. As far as breast augmentation versus implant, an implant is the medical device placed into a woman's breast during a breast augmentation, which is the procedure that enlarges a woman's breast. Hope this helps