Breast lift surgery can give women the boost in confidence they’ve been looking for after dealing with deflated, sagging breasts. Undergoing this surgery is exciting — the new you awaits!
Still, you haven’t quite achieved your desired goal following surgery until you’ve gotten through your breast lift recovery time. In this article, we’ll go over what you can expect during your recovery time for breast lift surgery, including some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about this phase of the procedure.
Breast Lift Recovery: What to Expect
Immediately following your breast lift procedure, you will be put into a surgical bra (compression garment or compression bra) with gauze and bandaging covering your incision sites. This will help to minimize swelling and aid in the healing process.
Some patients will have small tubes in their incision sites to aid with draining as well. These will generally be removed within the first week.
Because this procedure is typically performed with general anesthesia, you’ll need some time to wake and become oriented following the procedure. Some patients feel a bit lightheaded, sleepy, and occasionally nauseous during this time. These symptoms should subside quickly.
For the first breast lift recovery week, it’s important to get plenty of rest. During this period of recovery time breast lift patients usually experience the following symptoms:
- Bruising and breast skin discoloration
- Swelling of the areolae and breast skin
- Changes in breast sensation
- Minimal discomfort to moderate pain, which can be improved with pain medication
- Light bleeding
What to Avoid After Breast Lift Surgery
After any major surgical procedure, it’s important to do everything you can to promote healthy healing. Most patients will need to take it easy for about two weeks in order to achieve a successful recovery. Here are some things to avoid during this period:
Not moving
Get up and take short walks to increase blood flow (and reduce your risk for blood clots) as soon as possible.
Not using pain medication
There’s no award you get for enduring pain. As long as they are prescribed by your surgeon and you are taking them as directed, prescription pain medication is alright to reduce soreness and discomfort. Remember that pain medications should not be mixed with alcohol or other drugs.
Strenuous exercise and heavy lifting
Do not engage in serious physical activity as this could alter your breast lift results and put your health at risk. After a few weeks of the recovery process, you can discuss going back to light exercise with your surgeon.
As your breast lift recovery timeline goes on, you will be able to do more and more. Every patient is unique, however, so always check with your surgeon to know for sure what you can do and when.
FAQ: Breast Lift Plastic Surgery
Do I need a breast lift or breast augmentation?
Patients frequently confuse breast lift vs augmentation cosmetic surgery. The two procedures are actually quite different.
Breast lift surgery is meant to give your breasts a perkier appearance and reduce excess skin. The goal is to make your breasts look more how they used to: less flat, more lifted, and generally more youthful. During the surgery, the nipple and areola may be reshaped, resized, and repositioned. Excess breast tissue, excess breast skin, and sometimes fat may be removed.
Conversely, breast augmentation is meant to enlarge the breasts. If you have always wanted bigger breasts, or if you feel your breasts have reduced in size after having babies or achieving significant weight loss, you may be interested in breast augmentation surgery. During this surgery, your surgeon will insert breast implants into your breasts to add volume.
What is the recovery time for breast lift and augmentation?
When compared with the breast lift without implants recovery time, breast lift and augmentation recovery tends to be slightly longer. This is simply because this combined surgery is more complex and thus takes a larger toll on your body. Most patients go through an initial recovery period of four to six weeks.
Will I have scars after breast lift surgery?
Yes, breast lift surgery requires incisions, so you’ll have scars. For most patients, there will be a breast lift incision around the outer ring of each areola. You may also have an incision in your breast crease and vertically from the breast crease to the areola.
Do keep in mind, however, that your surgeon is going to do everything possible to keep your scars at a minimum and to make your incisions clean and small so that you don’t have extensive scarring. Furthermore, with time, your scars should diminish significantly.
Who is a good candidate for breast lift surgery?
Patients should be at a healthy stable weight with no major health concerns. If you have a serious medical condition or have had breast cancer or another major disease in the past, be sure to discuss this with your surgeon. Patients should be generally physically healthy and looking for an improvement for flat, sagging breasts.
Call Today to Schedule Your Consultation
If your breasts sag, you may benefit from a breast lift. Dr. Charles Galanis is a highly sought-after board-certified plastic surgeon performing breast lift surgery — as well as other breast enhancement surgeries such as breast augmentation and breast reduction — at his Beverly Hills practice.
If you are interested in breast lift surgery and would like to learn more about your options, please contact us today to schedule your consultation appointment with Dr. Galanis.
