During breast augmentation a small incision is made under the breast, around the nipple, or under the arm and a saline or gel implant is inserted directly under the breast tissue or under the breast tissue and the underlying muscle. This is an outpatient procedure meaning the cosmetic surgery patient goes home the same day. Recovery for breast augmentation is actually a pretty easy and tolerable recovery. Although recovery can vary by patient, breast augmentation recovery generally goes through the same predictable stages.
Breast Augmentation: Initial Recovery Stage
Initially following the breast augmentation surgery, the breasts are tight, swollen and painful. Over the next 6 weeks there is a significant amount of settling. By 3 months about 90% of the swelling has resolved and the breast are soft. Of course everything has to do with the patient’s anatomy and what size implant is selected but this is a rough guideline.
Breast Augmentation: When to Get Moving Again
After breast augmentation surgery, expect to take off 5-7 days from office work, and resuming cardio exercises in about three weeks. You can start doing more strenuous exercises after 6 weeks, such as weightlifting. You’ll probably be sore, bruised and swollen, but all of these will subside in a couple of weeks. Full cosmetic surgery swelling takes a few months to go away, but it will be so gradual that it would be difficult to say exactly when it all went away.
Recovery times vary on an individual basis, but patients are usually off of narcotic pain medicines in 1-2 days and able to return to work by 3 days. Light exercise, such as brisk walking, leg weights, and caring for small children, can be performed after 2-3 weeks while full exercise may not be resumed for 5-6 weeks.
It will take 6-12 months for the final result of your breast augmentation to be apparent; during this time swelling will decrease, the skin will stretch and soften, and the implants will drop slightly. It will also take 12 months for the scars to fully mature.
Dr. Rotatori’s Plan For Breast Augmentation Surgery
Each plastic surgeon has a breast augmentation recovery recommendation, but in general the following recovery can be expected. Use our handy guide to plan your recovery and breast augmentation procedure.
- Off of Narcotic Pain Medicines: 1-2 days
- Return to Work: 3 days
- Light Exercise: 2-3 weeks
- Full Exercise: 5-6 weeks
- Final Breast Augmentation Result: 6-12 months
- Scar Maturation: 12 months
If you are ready to take the next step in breast augmentation to get the perfect breasts you’ve always imagined, contact Dr. Rotatori and team today for your free consultation. Also check out our breast augmentation before and after photos to see the difference our breast augmentation procedures have made on our patients. We look forward to helping you look and feel your best!