Breast Mastopexy Recovery
Wear Your Compression Garment
After breast mastopexy, wear the compression garment supplied by your plastic surgeon. This will help to reduce swelling, improve blood flow, provide support, flush fluids from the body, and facilitate better healing. Wear this compression garment for as long as your plastic surgeon recommends and once you no longer need to wear it, avoid wearing bras with underwire for approximately 6 weeks. Instead, wear supportive sports bras.
Rest
After your breast mastopexy surgery, give yourself time to recover. While your body heals, avoid any strenuous activities or lifting your arms above shoulder height. This means no workouts, no lifting, no housework, and plenty of sleep. Although you won’t be bedridden, it is a good idea to stay close to home, as you may get tired from very little exercise. For much of the first week of your recovery, you should stay in a seated or reclined position unless going for walks.
Walk
Although you need your rest, it’s also important that you go for small, non-strenuous walks. Walking around your home will help aid circulation, which will improve your healing and minimize the risk of blood clots. These walks can be as short and easy as going around your living room or kitchen, just make sure that you’re getting some movement. Be careful to rise slowly when getting up for your walks and don’t push yourself too hard.
Sleep On Your Back
To avoid putting any excess pressure or strain on your breasts post-surgery, make sure you sleep on your back. Sleeping on your stomach will put pressure on the surgery site and may cause pain, and sleeping on your sides can cause uneven strain on your breasts. If you struggle to sleep on your back, place pillows on either side of your body to help you stay in place through the night.
Care For Your Sutures
Avoid bathing for about 24 to 48 hours after your surgery, at which point your plastic surgeon should give you permission to wash. Even once you are approved to wash yourself, avoid showering and hot water. Instead, start with sponge baths so you can gently wash near your sutures with a damp washcloth. Remember to pat the area of incision instead of scrubbing. Avoid hot baths, hot showers, saunas, and hot tubs.
Eat Well
Staying healthy will help you heal as your body will be in need of nutrients more than usual. Eating a variety of healthy foods will help your body get all of the nutrients it needs. During recovery, your body will benefit from vitamin K, as this vitamin has been shown to help with appropriate blood clotting. This vitamin is found largely in leafy greens and soybean.
Care For Your Scars
Healing doesn’t end once you’re approved to get back to regular living. Even once you’re recovered enough to go back to work, your workout routine, heavy lifting, and more, you will still need to care for your breast mastopexy incision site. To help minimize scarring, shield your scars from sun exposure for a year after the procedure. If you will be in the sun, make sure that your scars are protected with at least SPF 30 sunscreen (only once they are completely healed). Hydrate the area regularly with unscented moisturizer to help reduce the appearance of scars and to keep the skin supple.
Receive Breast Mastopexy In Kelowna
If you want lifted, shapelier beasts, a breast mastopexy can deliver the results you desire. To explore your options for breast enhancement, contact Peterson MD in downtown Kelowna by calling 1-250-868-9099 or by filling out the online contact form. Dr. Peterson and the team at Peterson MD are the Okanagan’s choice for surgical cosmetic procedures including breast surgery, tummy tuck, liposuction, arm lift surgery, and mommy makeovers. Peterson MD specializes in transformative cosmetic surgical producers with exceptional and lasting results. We are committed to a high standard of patient education and care and to providing surgical and non-surgical treatments to help patients look and feel their very best.
FAQ
Q: What will I need to do to prepare for a breast lift?
A: The first thing you need to do is to schedule a consultation with our plastic surgeon. Once you have decided on the right procedure for you, Dr. Peterson will provide you with specific pre and post-procedure instructions detailed specifically for you. An important thing to note: on the day of surgery you will need to arrange to be driven home.
Q: Will a breast mastopexy make my breasts smaller?
A: Because breast lifts remove some skin and tissue, they can make the breasts smaller, however what is removed is often made up for in lift. If you want your breasts to be larger, consider combining breast mastopexy with breast augmentation, and if you want your breasts to be smaller and still lifted, consider combining breast mastopexy with a breast reduction.
Q: How complicated is breast lift surgery?
A: Breast mastopexy is performed as a day surgery under general anaesthetic and can take between 1-3 hours depending on the degree of refinement needed. Some of your incisions will be concealed in the natural contours of your breasts, and others will be visible, but will significantly fade over time. Recovery is different for everyone, but you will feel mostly healed around the two-week mark. By week four the majority of your swelling and bruising should be gone, but you may not see the final results of your surgery for 6 months or even up to a year.
