5 Days After my Breast Augmentation Do They Look Normal? (photo)

Question

5 days ago i had my breast augmentation .. natrelle 310cc anatomical implants under muscle... they are still hard as rocks and feel uncomfortable.... do they look normal ? wil lthey fall in place ?

Brian K. Reedy, MD · Answer

Hello and thank you for your photo and question! Your breast look just how they should for being 5 days post op. They will continue to change shape and soften as the days, weeks and months go by.  I would say they don't feel soft or natural until about 2 - 3 months post op.  Best of luck!

Ryan Hoffman, MD · Answer

In general, 5 days post op after an augmentation can be a little scary. The implants feel harder, there is swelling, and they sometimes need to drop some. Usually, implants soften over the next couple weeks and the swelling subsides. Most implants will fall some, but textured implants do not fall as much as smooth. From your pictures it looks like everything is okay. Check in with your plastic surgeon and they should help to reassure you further.

Brian S. Glatt, MD, FACS · Answer

You are still very early following surgery and it can take several weeks for the swelling to come down and the shape/size to settle. Judging by your photo there does not seem to be any areas of concern at this point in your recovery. Best wishes!

Jerome Edelstein, MD · Answer

Your breasts look how they would typically so early on in recovery.  The implants are still sitting high because they haven't settled yet. This process can take about four months with the effect of gravity and tissue expansion. It can also happen faster with one breast than the other.

Jeffrey J. Roth, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for the photo. You are early in your post operative course. It looks like you are healing normally from the operation. The implants will typically rise up after surgery. They typically start to fall at one month. They can take 6 to 12 months to get to their appropriate position. Please follow your plastic surgeons instructions. Each Board Certified Plastic Surgeon may have their own protocol. Let them know your thoughts. Jeffrey J. Roth, M.D., F.A.C.S.Board Certified Plastic SurgeonLas Vegas Plastic Surgery

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

Breast implants that appear high and hard at 5 days is a fairly normal feeling.  In the absence of hematoma, this likely represents muscle spasm and will subside.

Ali Sajjadian, MD, FACS · Answer

Dear Sabrina,

	Thank you for sharing your your photo along with your post and congratulations.

	What you have described is totally normal at 5 days post-op.

	At this point, your pec muscles are tense as well as your skin; your breast tissue is accommodating to the new situation. It is normal that you feel a discomfort as well as some pain. You need to be patient so mother nature take its course; your implants will settle in their pockets as time passes and you advance into the recovery process further.

	What I advise you to do at this point is to follow your surgeon's instructions religiously and make sure that you do not put yourself in positions where possible accidental trauma happens to the operated area.

	It is important that you communicate with your surgeon freely as a team that the better its performance is the better the results of your surgery will be.

	I hope this helps and the best of luck to you.

	Dr. Sajjadian

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

The appearance of you implants look reasonable.  Concerning the feel, this should be soft.  Their position should not change much if at all because they are anatomic. They should settle a bit.

	Dr. Es

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS · Answer

At 5 days post-op you are indeed still swollen and tender, and this will resolve over time.

	However, you have textured implants below the muscle (an error in choice in my opinion), and if they "work" properly in adherence to the tissues, they are already "in-position" and cannot be expected to drop. Furthermore, when reclining, they remain teardrop in appearance (NOT "anatomical" since natural breasts round out and flatten towards the armpit when reclining). Your incisions are a bit too lateral for my liking; they may show with certain types of bathing suit, and they are too close to the sensory nerve to your nipples. Again, just individual surgeon's choice, but not what I would have recommended.

	Firmness is partially related to saline fill (if you have saline implants); if overfilled too much, some degree of unnatural firmness may remain. If underfilled, they will soften, but particularly with textured saline implants, leakage and deflation is more common, because of the tiny low spots and high spots associated with the texture--each breath flexes the implant surface until the weak low spot breaks down and develops a pinhole leak. If you have the cohesive gel textured implants, they are more firm by manufacture, but will feel softer as your surgical swelling goes down. Yet, they will not be as soft as smooth round style 10 moderate profile cohesive gel Natrelle implants, by comparison.

	But what is done is done, and you can expect to soften, may (but will probably not) drop into a better position, and could very well end up with a perfectly adequate result that hopefully you will like! But not optimal, IMHO. Best wishes! Dr. Tholen

Scott Loessin, MD · Answer

At this time only being 5 days post op it looks normal. Patients are always still high and tight at this point in their healing process. Over the next days and weeks your implants will start to drop and soften. Each surgeon is different and will discuss with you about doing implant compression's as well that will help them soften and drop into their natural position.