Are Rubbing "Squeaky" Noises 3 Weeks Post op Normal?

Your new implant sliding against the stretched moist tissues causes a friction rub (sound) that can be felt as well as occasionally heard. This is termed "bourdonnement" and was definitively described in the plastic surgery literature: "Bourdonnement and other benign temporary breast implant sounds", Annals of Plastic Surgery, Vol 43 p589, 1999.

The inflammation that causes this sound resolves as the healing process goes forward. It generally goes away in a few days to weeks, but can occasionally take longer, depending on how long your healing process takes.

Those of us who still use a stethescope for listening to patients' chests will occasionally hear distinctive sounds such as this that indicate lung/chest (pleural) inflammation that can aid in diagnosis. In your case this sound only indicates that your healing is incomplete. Best wishes!

Thank you for the question.


I would suggest that you have “fun with it”  since these noises do tend to go away within the first few weeks after surgery.  This is  probably related to fluid around the breast implants.




Best wishes.

Totally normal. It does not happen in everyone but it has always gone away in all of my patients in whom it occurs.