How Do You Massage Breasts After Breast Augmentation?

Many of the other responders have mentioned that breast massaging is a controversial subject. I see no controversy; it is a total waste of your time. Breast massaging was invented back in the early 1960s when we knew very little about capsular contractions, their etiology, and their possible treatments. When I was at Stanford, I did a casual survey of women who massage their breasts and women who didn’t have the time to massage their breasts. I found that capsular contracture occurs in those who massage and those who don’t. Therefore, I believe this is the wrong modality to increase the chances of a soft breast.
Since the formation of a capsule around an implant is an immune phenomenon, the treatment of choice is to modulate the immune response biochemically and not mechanically. In 2003, Schlesinger et al, described the use of Accolate or Singulair to treat capsular contractures. Today, I give Accolate aka Zafirlukast immediately post-operatively to all my patients and I find it works very nicely to prevent capsular contractures.

While some surgeons advocate for post-breast augmentation massage to potentially prevent capsular contracture and promote implant settling, it's important to note that there is no conclusive evidence supporting the benefit of massage. Techniques and recommendations can vary significantly among surgeons who recommend it. Any massage should only be initiated after receiving specific guidance and approval from your surgeon.

Hi, thank you for sharing your question. Breast massages are not mandatory and will depend on your surgeon's preferences. Many surgeons feel that it is a waste of time and that there is no evidence to suggest that it lowers your risk of contracture after surgery. Those that believe in massages feel that the gentle movements can displace the the implant within the pocket and allowing it to sit within a more natural position. Discuss this with your board certified plastic surgeon to determine what he/she recommends. I hope this helps.

I don't recommend massage for my patients after breast augmentation. There's no enough evidence that it prevents capsular contracture. Capsular contracture can be minimized by sterile, no-touch technique when inserting breast implants. That's why I used the Keller funnel to place my implants. The implants are open and placed into the breasts within 1 minute, without the implant ever touching my gloves or the patient's skin.

There is no evidence that breast massage helps in any way in preventing capsular contraction. People who use smooth implants tend to advice breast massage. In my practice i sue nano textured implants and do not advocate breast tissue massage. this has a risk of implant malposition to rotation.
I recommend massage of the scar tissue once all wounds are healed. I advice applying monitoring cream from 3weeks and use of silicone gels from 4 weeks. The scar massage to be done twice a day 5-10 mins gently with moisturising creams . No fancy creams, even E45 can be applied and used for moisturising of the scar areas.

I highly recommend massaging your breast one week after surgery. Start by massaging all around and avoid to massage on top the wound.

There isn't any good evidence that massage helps with a breast augmentation per se. However, massage does help with scarring. So once healed (typically 2 weeks), I would advise massaging the scar after showering and before putting the bra on and the same before bed - twice a day for 2 minutes with Bio-oil, E45 or another suitable moisturiser. This is general scar advice. It won't prevent a capsular contracture, rupture, implant animation or malposition, etc. Massage in general does make someone feel good and lift's one's mood. So with its limitations understood, massage can still be useful.

Hello and thank you for this great question. I do a combination of gentle massage exercises with gentle stretching exercises. I call them yoga stretching where the arms are stretched in front of the body up to shoulder height and down and then on the side of the body up to shoulder height and down for approximately 2 mins 3 times a day. What this does is it moves the pec muscle over the implant (when the implant is under the muscle) which helps keep the pocket soft. The massages consist of moving the implant towards the midline and then displacing the implant downward for 2 mins, 3 times a day. Wish you the best of luck.

In the past, surgeons recommended massage of the implants after breast augmentation surgery. Some believed that this would reduce the chance of developing capsular contracture. Nowadays, most surgeons do not recommend massage, as with vigorous manipulation, this may cause malposition or movement of the implant. To encourage the implants to “drop” into place, I do educate some of my patients to apply pressure to the upper part (superior pole) of the breast twice a day for 10 to 20 seconds at a time.

Yes and no! It seems like a lot of answers on real self have stated that breast massage is a waste of time, however I disagree.
While it is unproven (other than anecdotal reports) in preventing capsular contracture, I do feel it helps keep the upper breast capsule open. This is important in helping to prevent that sharp "step off" that you see after some breast augmentations. 
It is best you discuss with your surgeon as each of us will have different reasons for what we do.
Best,
Dr. Richland

In most cases, I don't recommend any massage after breast augmentation. Decades ago it was recommended that patients do breast massage exercises to prevent capsular contracture. That theory has been disproved. On occasion I will recommend specific massage exercises if a woman's implants are slow to drop into place. That being said, it is best to discuss this with your Plastic Surgeon as he or she will have their own specific recommendations.