Recovery and Healing

Today’s breast augmentation patients recover faster than ever before. Once your breast augmentation procedure has been performed, you will be anxious to get back to your daily routine. However, a safe and speedy recovery usually follows when you understand the recovery timeline and anticipate the physical changes expected following your Montreal breast augmentation. We will detail some of the practical timeline considerations, expected physical changes, and use of garments after your Montreal breast augmentation procedure.

In general, it can take up to 2 weeks to feel normal again. During this time period, we advised our patients to refrain from activities that would put undue pressure on the breast implants. Avoid bending over, stretching, or sleeping on your stomach. Physical training and gym exercise may not be performed for a month or more following your Montreal breast augmentation procedure. Within 2 to 4 weeks, you will be able to return to non-strenuous work.

Recovery Timeline…
How long will it take to recover from your Montreal breast augmentation procedure? The answer depends upon a variety of issues, your general health, choice of incision, surgical technique, and size of implant all affect the rate of healing and recovery. It is worth remarking that the size of the breast implant affects how your body responds during recovery. Large breast implants necessitate greater stretch of the skin and muscle tissues. This can temporarily increase your level of discomfort and require a greater duration of time for your body to adapt and recover. Attention to our recovery instructions will improve your overall experience and expedite recovery.

If you are an active person who loves to exercise, non-strenuous activities such as gentle walking can commence the day after breast augmentation. However, you must avoid physical training in the gym and strenuous activities for a minimum of 4 weeks. Upper bodyweight training can resume 6 weeks after breast augmentation and progress to full unrestricted exercise and physical activity by 8 weeks.

More than 3 months are required for scar maturation and will often continue to improve over the subsequent two years. Furthermore, it may require up to 6 months for the breast implant to descend into its desired position for a natural breast shape and look. This explains why patients sometimes find their breasts to be slightly high and firm early after breast augmentation. Scar maturation and breast implant descent is a normal process. You can expect your breasts to progressively soften and settle in the first 6 months. It’s also a common occurrence for one breast to settle before the other, so don’t be alarmed if that occurs.

What To Expect After…
Dr. Chen Lee will follow your recovery with frequent office visits to ensure normal healing following your Montreal breast augmentation. You should expect your breasts to be bruised and swollen soon after your breast augmentation procedure. During this early healing period, swelling often causes normal monthly variations in a woman’s breast shape to become exaggerated. Dr. Chen Lee will closely monitor your progress to optimize your recovery and provide reassurance as your body adapts to the breast implants.

Life after your procedure is interesting, to say the least! It requires some patience to wait for the implants to descend into their desired location. You might be tempted to go out and buy the new bras that you have been wanting but it is best to wait until the healing process to complete. You might find that for a few weeks, the subject of your surgery will be a bit of a hot topic amongst family and friends. Soon after, people will enjoy your new appearance and renewed confidence.

Garment & Bra…
Many recovery garments and bras are commercially available. Some specialized breast garments exert a downward compressive force to prevent superior migration of the breast implant. Other recovery bras elevate the breast superiorly to relieve pressure on the fresh incision and support the bottom pole of the breast to minimize the risk of bottoming out. Every patient’s breast surgery is unique. Dr. Chen Lee will make garment recommendations based on your particular situation. Plan to restrict your choice of undergarments to his recommendations (e.g. garments and bras without under-wire, compression versus support) after breast augmentation. After 6 weeks, the restrictions are lifted and you can redo your wardrobe to include any desired lingerie or undergarment.