How is recovery after a breast lift and implants?

On average, patients take 6 to 8 weeks to fully recover from their breast lift and implant surgery. Many patients feel perfectly normal and pain fee after the first week of recovery. Of course, the exact amount of time varies based on the rate you heal but its safe to say most women are able to return to work after one week.

thanks for the question. the recovery from a breast lift with implant depends on the details of the procedure. Generally the implant cane behind the muscle and this may give pain and swelling in the first week or so and may result in arm movement specially lifting arms above shoulder. Generally patient with implant with uplift, start light duties around two week period and gradually build on their recovery. Heavy work and lifting heavy objects be better avoided in first few weeks after the procedure. Simple analgesics like paracetamol and shoulder exercises may help with recovery.

Thank you for your question. Please follow the advice of your surgeon, because they know all the details of your case. I generally recommend that people can return to work within 3-4 days, whenever they are off narcotic pain medication. I recommend to wait 4-6 weeks though before lifting loads or performing active movement of the arms and upper torso. Otherwise, you risk implant displacement, wound breakdown, development of a hematoma or seroma.

Concerns about the recovery period are very common amongst women who are considering breast augmentation surgery. It's important to realize that every patient's situation is unique.Some patients have jobs that involve heavy lifting, while others sit at a desk. Some patients have children, while others have a significant support system available to them. Some patients have more extensive procedures, while some patients have a low pain tolerance. All of these factors can impact the recovery period.I generally recommend that patients take a week off from work. Patients who have desk jobs may return sooner. Light exercise can usually be undertaken at about two weeks and strenuous physical activity can be resumed at six weeks. At that time, I tell patients that they may return to full activity without restrictions.Two situations deserve special mention, these include childcare and driving. I tell patients that they shouldn't drive a motor vehicle until they're no longer taking narcotic pain relievers. Also, I believe that if you have small children at home, some type of childcare assistance should be available for at least one week following surgery. When all of these factors are considered, most patients feel that the recovery was less difficult than expected.

Thank you for your question. Recovery can vary from patient to patient.  Pain is tolerated differently depending upon the person. I would suggest you allow yourself 7-10 days without work and then ease back into your routine gradually.  Work back up to your previous activity level.Best of luck,

You should plan to be off work for up to 5-7 days, although this can vary from person to person. If your work is more physically demanding, you'll probably need to wait about 3 weeks and wait 6 weeks before lifting.  

Regarding Post-Operative Healing after breast lift with implants:Here are the instructions we give to my patients:You will go home in a bra or with only light dressings over the incision lines.Patients can usually return to work in one week to ten days. Sutures are dissolvable but the ending knot is removed within 1-2 weeks.Initial discomfort is easily controlled with oral medication. Light activities may be started in 7-10 days with light lifting of 20 pounds or less from 10 days to 3 wks. After 3 weeks progressive exercise with running and lifting of heavier weights after 6 weeks.

It really depends on a few factors. Adequate pain control is likely the most important. Individual pain tolerance differs greatly. I find that women who have had children generally have less post-op pain, as they have a much higher pain tolerance. From a surgical point of view, there are several things the surgeon/anaesthesiologist can do to decrease your post-op pain. I generally perform breast blocks prior to making any incisions with a mix of short- and long-acting local anaesthetics. I have found this greatly reduces post-op pain. I also encourage patients to take the prescribed pain killers regularly every 4 hours especially for the first 24-48 hours. If you don't stay on top of the pain in the immediate post-operative period, it is extremely difficult to "catch-up". Most of my patients experience very little post-op pain after breast augmentation.Of course, the type of augmentation you have will also determine your post-operative discomfort. Larger implants, and subpectoral implant placement will also increase post-op discomfort. This doesn't mean you shouldn't get large implants, or place them under the muscle - you simply need to know what to expect. Many women also experience difficulty with sleeping in the first few weeks after augmentation due to the weight of the implants on their chest. This is more significant in back-sleepers.To answer your question about time off work, my experience has been that there is a huge range. I have patients that go back to work the next day (against my advice), and I have had patients take as much as 2 weeks off of work. It really depends on what you do for work, and how you feel. As for taking care of your kids, if your implant is placed under the muscle, it will be a few weeks before you feel comfortable enough to pick them up.As for scars, I tell patients it will take a year to see the absolute final result. Practically, however, by 3-6 months the scar will be very close to the final result. I suggest 3M paper taping, and have a specific scar massage protocol I use to help speed scar resolution.I hope this helps. Good luck!Sincerely,

Recovery after a breast lift and implant surgery is a little more recovery than after just implant surgery.  Breast implant surgery recovery or breast enhancement surgery recovery is essentially a 24 hour recovery, back to light activity, with a shower the same day of surgery.  In my practice, no restrictive bra or dressing is necessary after a breast augmentation.  The breast lift would mean that the patient would not shower for one to two days after surgery.  There is a little more discomfort with the combination of a breast lift with implants rather than an isolated breast implant surgery.

Unfortunately, you do not describe the type of lift you are having.  These can vary from around the nipple to a lollipop or boat anchor incisions.  Also, you do not describe whether the implants will be placed in front of or behind the muscle.  Implants behind the muscle hurt longer and stretching of the muscles can aggravate the pain.  Usually 1 one week would be enough to get you back to light duty or 4 weeks to be completely back to normal.

Best of Luck,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.