How Significantly Do Fluid Drains Reduce Swelling?

Some plastic surgeons place drains after breast augmentation surgery to remove any fluid that might accumulate next to the prosthesis.

The function of drain placement following revision breast surgery is to help reduce fluid collection inside the breast. Failing to place drains in some instances may increase the risk of development of a seroma surrounding a breast implant. However, they do not technically reduce swelling that occurs within the breast tissue itself.
 

if you had a capsular contracture then the surgery was probably a capsulectomy, which is often associated with swelling and fluid weeping into the space. The drains prevent the fluid buildup but the swelling may take a while to go down. Since a capsulectomy by definition removes some tissue, the slightly larger implant should compensate for that without the breast size changing much. As for size, 500 cc of silicone is the same volume as 500 cc of saline, though the appearance may differ because of implant dimensions.

Drains do not reduce swelling. Drains managed fluid. With an increased of 50 -75 mL you will have a slight increase in your size. This will only be apparent once all the swelling has decreased.

Dr. ES

Drains remove fluid that might otherwise collect around the implants,but they do not reduce swelling. The capsule removal may have removed 25-50 cc or so, and that will account for some of the extra 50-75 cc of implant increase. It is hard to imagine that you would get a permanent one cup size increase in this setting with so small an increment in implant size.

All the best.

Drains help reduce blood and fluid in the pocket.  As for sizing, the shapes are different from saline to silicone so the volumes may be a bit different.

I do not think that drains necessarily reduce swelling much, if at all.  Drains do however remove fluid thereby preventing fluid accumulation around breast implants…  I too find that it is often necessary to use larger silicone gel breast implants to achieve the same look compared to saline breast implants.

 Given that you have had surgery “recently”, I would suggest that you continue to exercise patience and allow yourself several months before evaluating the outcome of the procedure performed. There many variables involved when it comes to the aesthetic outcome after revision breast surgery;  best to allow for time to pass before you becoming too concerned.

 Best wishes; hopefully, you will be pleased with the longer-term outcome of the procedure performed.

Your breast implant size was not significantly changed. Swelling will account for most of your change in breast size.  A drain while helpful to remove any fluid that may accumulate it will not have much of an effect on your breast size.  

Only time will tell if your larger than expected outcome is fluid related.  Drains are very effective in minimizing fluid collections in women with a tendency to produce post operative serum.  The fact your drains were in for a week might suggest you are such a person who produces excess fluid.  Despite the drain, you may still have excess fluid around the implants.  This is no fault of yours or your doctor.  If there is excess fluid, once it has completely resolved, your size may be perfect.