When is It Safe to Wear a Wireless Bra After Breast Reduction?

"Get two plastic surgeons in a room, you'll have three opinions."

Each surgeon has a different opinion on bra use following breast surgery. As long as the garment is not painful, ill-fitting or irritating to the healing incision, there is no wrong answer.

Following breast surgery of any kind, I place a sterile surgical bra in the operating room that remains in place for the first 48 hours. This prevents unsterile garments from entering the operating room, and may therefore decrease the incidence of infection. After 48 hours, I recommended that a soft cotton sports bra be used for the following month. I prefer a sports bra because it is comfortable yet supportive, and prevents excess breast weight from resting on the fresh incisions. The sports bra is also used to support breast implants from the same process following breast augmentation.

Some physicians specifically use an underwire bra to help "set the fold" under the breast following breast surgery. My opinion is that this anatomical landmark is set in the operating room, and can not be effectively changed through external pressure. I also feel that the wire can apply undue pressure on the healing incisions.

Conversely, other physicians use a bandeau or breast strap placed on the upper portion of the chest following breast augmentation. This is used to apply pressure to the top of the breast implant and help to drop the implant into a more ideal location.

In general, if a garment is tight and painful, it can harm the blood flow to the breast and potentially cause adverse results. Another old adage in plastic surgery: "never ruin a good operation with a bad dressing." Accordingly, I recommend a soft, comfortably fitting sports bra for the first month following surgery.

Every doctor has different post op instructions so you should ask your surgeon what would work for you. The dressings vary from patient to patient. Some patients may be placed in a sports bra; others will wear a stabilizing elastic support strap. Your doctor will decide after surgery and in subsequent weeks, which dressing will suit your needs and how long you would need to wear them.

Management of bra use in my post-surgical patients is very straightforward. Following breast reduction, I put patients into a surgical bra for about four weeks. Alternatively, they may wear a sports bra that fits snugly and is comfortable. After four weeks, patients may switch over to a regular underwire bra so long as their incisions are healing appropriately.