What are the must haves for breast reduction post-op?

Question

I’m scheduled for surgery 7/27 & trying to make sure I have all my bases covered for must haves during recovery. I’d appreciate any advice and suggestions!

Marie E. Montag, MD · Answer

A breast reduction is a great procedure to decrease the size of the breast and reduce the stress on your back, neck and shoulders and improve your mobility. When we remove the excess tissue we also rearrange the remaining breast tissue and skin to create a perkier, more pleasing shape of the breast.
To get ready for surgery there are a number of things you prepare for and can purchase to have on hand that will make the early recovery time easier. First of all, make sure you have someone committed to being with you (around the clock) for the first 24-48 hours after surgery. It is important for them to be there with you to get instructions because you (the patient) will not be able to remember all of the details after the anesthetics and while you are on the pain medicine. Also, you will not be able to drive yourself anywhere until about 5-7 days out, when you are off the pain medication and feeling limber. You will wake up from surgery and you will have a special surgical bra on, but we also suggest getting a FRONT CLOSING SPORTS BRA so that you have something to change into while you wash the surgical bra. Also, having BUTTON DOWN OR ZIP-UP SHIRTS will make getting dressed and undressed easier. You will need some GAUZE SPONGES for post-operative dressings to place over the incisions inside the bra. There tends to be a lot of oozing along the incision lines for the first dew days after surgery.
  
You will get a prescription for narcotic pain medicines after surgery from your doctor. These are necessary for the worst of the pain the first day or two, but also have some TYLENOL at home. As the pain gets less you can change over to the Tylenol and get off of the narcotics earlier. Narcotic pain medicines have a lot of side effects that you want to avoid. The worst of those is constipation. Narcotics slow down the intestines severely, and many patients end up constipated and uncomfortable if they do not take precautions. We recommend you start on a STOOL SOFTENER OR LAXITIVE as soon as you start the narcotics, and if they are not effective then be ready to move on to a suppository or enema before it becomes a crisis (that’s the last thing you want to deal with while you are trying to heal!).
  
ICE PACKS can also help with the discomfort and swelling. Putting ice off and on the tops and sides of the breasts can cut down on pain and narcotic use in the first few days after surgery (But, do NOT use heat!). After surgery your appetite will not be great and sometimes people even get nauseated from the anesthetics and the medicines. You should have some BOTTLED WATER or GATORADE on hand as well as CRACKERS and SOUPS along with other foods that are easy to digest and not heavy or spicy. It is more important to stay hydrated after surgery than to worry about how many calories that you intake. You almost need to treat yourself like you have the flu for a couple of days until your stomach gets settled and you care off of the narcotics….and definitely do not take the pain medication on an empty stomach, or else you will for sure get sick! 
  
Every patient has a slightly different experience with surgery and recovery, but these tips may help you get through the process a little easier! Good luck with your breast reduction!!

Tom J. Pousti, MD · Answer

Congratulations on your decision to proceed with breast reduction surgery; for the appropriately selected patient, this operation tends to be one of the most patient pleasing operations we perform. I think it is best to plan on having someone helping you full time for 5 to 7 days after the procedure is performed.    Other "keys to success": careful selection of plastic surgeon and careful communication of goals.
 Best wishes for an outcome that you will be very pleased with.

Karl William Schwarz, MD · Answer

The good news is Breast reduction surgery is not really a associated with a very difficult recovery. You just want To lay low for a couple of days and stay in your post surgical bra. You do want to make sure to walk frequently and that is every hour. You don’t need to walk a long way but you definitely need to be moving around your house every hour so that you will prevent blood clots in your legs from forming and prevent you from getting any pneumonia.And then the rest of it is like any other recovery when you want to make sure you have some food set aside that is high in protein and is non-processed and drink plenty of fluid and have somebody administer your pain medications and postoperative antibiotics. I think the most important thing is really to understand in the next couple of weeks it’s possible for you to have some healing problems around what we called a triple point which is the inferior aspect of your incision. These are usually minor and can be treated just with very simple dressings but it is the most common complication after this type of surgery so I think just being mentally prepared for that is probably the most important thing for you to know before your surgery.

What are the must haves for breast reduction post-op?

Answers (3)

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