So immediately after surgery, my patients will awaken in the operating room, and we transfer them to the recovery room for observation. We observe them for one to two hours before they are discharged home with a responsible adult. Some of the things that we want to see are that their blood pressure and heart rate are stable, that they’re not experiencing severe pain, that patients are able to tolerate some food and water. At that time, we place a surgical bra for support.

When you arrive home, you will notice that your breasts are going to already be starting to feel firm and tight. This is really normal. There is some swelling that’s going to set in. What I recommend to my patients is that they get into bed and take a nap for two to three hours. The reason why I like to do this is that it’ll allow the anesthetic to gradually come out of your system while you’re sleeping, and this is also the peak period for post-operative nausea. So by the time you wake up, that peak should have passed and you should be feeling pretty good. At this point, I recommend that you eat something solid, take some pain medication if needed, and then get into a nice warm shower. Again, this will differ from surgeon to surgeon. I really like to let my patients get into a nice warm shower that evening because they can begin moving their arms around and over their head to stretch out their muscles. For most of us, we’ve put the implant underneath the pectoralis muscle on the chest, and that warm shower just helps to loosen everything up. Some surgeons will ask you not to shower for several days.

The day after surgery, you’ll notice that your breasts will feel tight and firm, and some of my patients will say that it almost feels as if something’s sitting on their chest. That’s really from the muscle being stretched out. I ask my patients to continue the arms exercises that I’ve prescribed and that they continue to wear their surgical bra for support. I do ask my patients to avoid any heavy lifting, exercise or sexual activity for two weeks after surgery. During this period, if you have any high fevers, any increased swelling or bruising or increased pain, you should definitely notify your surgeon.

Two days after surgery, the breast should start to feel a little less tight as some of that swelling starts to subside. implants may still be sitting a little bit higher than you expect. This is really normal, so just be patient. Continue gentle arm and chest exercises and wear your bra for support. Most patients will be able to return to work the following day.

One week after surgery, I like to see my patients to assess for any unusual swelling or bruising. The swelling will be continuing to resolve at this stage. The breast implants will still probably be sitting a bit high, at least a bit higher than you expect, and that’s again, very normal. Really is from swelling and also from the muscles if they’re particularly tight. I find that if patients do a lot of upper body work then their muscles will be a bit stronger and the implants may sit higher for some time than if they don’t. I do recommend that the surgical bra be continued for support during this period.

Two weeks after surgery, I let patients go back to exercises tolerated. I recommend that they start with gentle controlled motion and then work up to their normal level of activity. If you are a runner or if you do a lot of yoga or Pilates, you may need three weeks to get back to your normal level. Same thing for a lot of heavy upper body lifting. This is very regional. So in New York City, my patients tend to run or do yoga. If you’re in Texas, you’re probably a horseback rider. So in that case, your surgeon may recommend that you wait for six weeks before you get back on the horse. But please listen to your surgeon about this. At this point, you can generally resume taking all of your preoperative medication, including any anti-inflammatory medication such as Advil or Aleve. Again, heavy lifting as tolerated is permitted. And at this point, I usually switch my patients over to a soft supportive bra.

Six weeks after surgery, almost all of your swelling should have resolved. The breasts will soften a bit and the implants will begin to settle into place as your muscle continues to relax. The implants aren’t going to fall per se, but they’ll just settle a bit more. There should be no limitations on your activity at this point, and any garment use is permitted. Three months after surgery, you’ll notice your implants will continue to settle. There might be a little bit of asymmetry at this stage. That’s pretty typical. Now, keep in mind that if you start asymmetric, you will end a little bit asymmetric, and I guarantee you’ll be looking at your breasts a lot more often after surgery than you did preoperatively. So just be patient with yourself. Be patient with the healing process. We always mention that breasts are sisters and not twins. They’re going to do their own thing at their own pace so just be a little bit patient. You’ll notice, though, that the implants will continue to soften.

Six months after surgery, the breast should be quite a bit softer as the implants have almost fully settled. Mammograms are okay at this stage, but make sure you tell your mammographer that you’ve had breast implants. They do have special techniques to move the implants around while they’re squeezing the breast tissue.

By 12 months after surgery, the implants have almost always fully settled, and I recommend at this point that you see your surgeon for an annual visit. Again, this is very practice-dependent. My personal preference is to see my patients once a year just for a quick visit to make sure everything is okay, since this is a medical device that we’ve put in for elective reasons. However, we do recommend that you just follow your surgeon’s recommendations in this.