4 Weeks Post-op - Uneven Breasts?

You should be patient until 3-4 months after surgery.  Make sure you are following all of your post op instructions and doing any massaging as directed by your surgeon. 

It
is quite common for the two breasts to heal differently. One may swell more,
one may feel more uncomfortable, or the shapes may differ initially. After
complete healing, they should look more similar and natural. Patience is
required, but if you are concerned, ask questions to your doctor or the nursing
staff.


#breastrevision
#breastimplants

Thank you for your question and for sharing your photos. During the post-operative period the breast are swollen, and the breast implants appear in a much higher position. Over time they descend and fills out the lower half of the breast. In addition, it is not uncommon for one breast to be more swollen than the other and may even out with time (unless they were asymmetric in size to begin with). It may take several months for this to happen and can be encouraged with breast massage and compression. It may appear that the breast enlarges as the lower aspect of the breast fills out (at the expense of the upper portion of the breast).

Thank you for submitting your question and
photo. Your very early in your recovery from breast augmentation surgery. Your
implants will soften and your breasts will change over the next several weeks.
Final results take 6 months.  Discuss your concerns with your surgeon. Best wishes.

It’s not unusual for patients to
note breast asymmetry immediately following breast augmentation.This asymmetry can occur for a variety of
reasons, but is most often related to swelling which takes time to
resolve.It usually takes about four to
six weeks for enough swelling to resolve to make aesthetic judgements
possible.In some cases, the asymmetry
may have been present pre-operatively.At three months, the majority of patients are happy with
their symmetry and aesthetic result.It’s therefore important to be patient in the immediate post-operative
period.It’s also important to discuss
these issues with your plastic surgeon.Your surgeon can rule out more serious problems such as hematoma
formation and hopefully alleviate your anxiety.This will ultimately make this a better experience for you.

It is hard to say exactly how your breast will look once it drops, but it will take on a more natural contour, with a fullness in the lower portion. 

Thank you for the photo.  It is a bit difficult to say as we don't see a pre op photo.  In any case, you are very early in the post operative course.  Implants start to fall at 3 weeks.  It may take several months to see the final result.  Keep talking with your plastic surgeon.

At 4 weeks, some swelling and tissue tightness is still expected.  It's really "too early to tell" in terms of subtle shape differences.  Give it 2-3 months before judging the final result.  

Also, posting a "before" picture would be helpful - many people have pre-existing asymmetries that they don't even notice beforehand...but they sure notice them afterwards!

Your surgeon can best advise you on this.

All the best,

It is interesting to me to see how critically pin point accurate patients are to see a tiny bit of symmetry after surgery but noticed nothing after 20 some years of having asymmetrical breasts and never noticed a thing. . We get photos of every single patient to show the patient PRIOR to surgery what to expect AFTER her breast aug so that she knows that the aug will NOT be perfectly identical and that's when they realize that they were not built perfectly identical.  Once we discuss this with our patients we don't see the problem.  Interesting how it works but clearly it's a psychological thing.  It reminds me of how much of a doctor we all need to be throughout all of this.

In the photos, it is obvious that the right breast appears larger, and the nipple areola sits lower on your breast on the rigth.  But because you dont post before pictures, it is hard to determine why you have the asymmetry.  I doubt that the asymmetry of the nipple position will change much unless you do something about it.  I will typically place my patients in a breast strap or bandeau putting pressure over the breast that the nipple looks lower on.  This helps to strech the capsule around the implant and allow the implant to "settle" more, which in turn will help to elevate the position of the nipple.  This is usually done early after surgery or as soon as the asymmetry is seen.  But the volume asymmetry is another situation.  Was the volume the same before surgery?  If so, then you may have swelling still on the right, or you could have fluid around the implant.  Without a more detailed history, it is difficult to speculate the reasons.  You should see your surgeon to discuss your issues and determine what the best plan of action is.