Many women dream about having breast augmentation surgery, but the idea of the pain after the surgery holds them back. Understandably, some women don’t want to endure a painful recovery, even if the promising result is a boost of confidence and achieving aesthetic results.
If worries about pain are holding you back, know that Soler Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Tampa, Florida, is a skilled surgeon who knows how to minimize recovery pain for all of his breast augmentation patients.
How Painful Is Breast Augmentation Surgery?
Breast augmentation is not as painful as you may think. Advil or Tylenol efficiently manages any discomfort felt after the surgery. Of course, two main factors will determine how much pain you experience during recovery from breast augmentation surgery.
The first factor is your pain tolerance. Some people’s pain tolerance is higher than others, meaning they can cope better with discomfort, while others have a lower pain threshold, meaning they are more sensitive to pain. Pain tolerance is innate in all people, but a higher pain threshold may help reduce your discomfort during recovery.
The other factor that will determine the amount of pain you can anticipate is time, which can be broken down into four stages:
1. Immediately After Surgery
After your surgery, you will feel a slight discomfort due to your body adjusting to the changes. As you wake from the general anesthesia used for your surgery, you will notice your chest feels heavier from the implants, with some slight aching or tightness in the breast. The general anesthesia might make you feel a little disoriented.
2. Hours After Surgery
Your breasts will continue to have some moderate achiness or tenderness during the hours after your surgery.
3. Days After Surgery
You’ll feel the most discomfort three to five days after your surgery, as the healing process begins around this time. This may mean some inflammation around your incisions and implants as your body adjusts to accommodate the surgery. Many patients experience minor twinges, tenderness, and aching, but this discomfort usually goes away within seven days and can be easily managed by over-the-counter medications.
4. Weeks After Surgery
In the weeks after your surgery, your soreness will slowly go away as you heal. Aside from some mild tenderness, many women feel minimal to no pain just two to three weeks after surgery. Most of the pain should be gone one month after surgery. Many women compare this feeling to those associated with premenstrual syndrome.
How Painful Is Breast Augmentation Recovery?
It’s natural to have concerns about the discomfort that you will face during your recovery period. While every individual is different, most women’s recovery after breast implants takes six to eight weeks.
Your health and the placement of your implants determine the length of your recovery period. Age also plays a part in how fast you recover. Most women can return to all normal activities about two months after the surgery, including normal exercise and intimate activity.
If you have concerns about your pain after breast augmentation or you are experiencing severe or prolonged discomfort, don’t hesitate to reach out to your surgeon.
What Can You Expect During Your Recovery?
Although your recovery period will last several weeks, the recovery itself is fairly straightforward. During your recovery, you will follow simple post-operation guidelines to help you through each phase of your recovery. Some of your post-operation guidelines will include:
- Get plenty of rest: Allow your body ample time to heal by getting plenty of rest.
- Avoid strenuous activity: Avoid strenuous activities and heavy lifting for at least four to six weeks. Gradually reintroduce physical activity as advised by your surgeon.
- Limit yourself to walking: Light walking is the best idea after surgery as it’s not strenuous. Walking is also good for the circulation and helps prevent blood clots.
- Sleep on your back: Sleeping on your back helps reduce swelling and discomfort. It also prevents fluid accumulation in the breast area and promotes better circulation, resulting in a more comfortable recovery. Also, keep your upper body elevated at a 30- to 45-degree angle.
- Do not take baths: For the incision to heal, you can’t soak the area in water. Healing relies on fibrocytes producing connective tissue. If you soak the area, the healing process can slow down. This includes soaking in the pool, ocean, hot tub or lake.
- Avoid excessive heat, such as saunas and hot tubs: Public saunas and hot tubs pose additional risks, such as bacterial infections and wound irritation.
- Follow post-operative instructions: Adhere closely to the guidelines provided by your surgeon. We tailor these instructions to your specific procedure to minimize complications and promote healing.
We will provide you with other instructions for your recovery, such as how soon you can take a shower, which soap to use and the type of clothing that will be best for your recovery — such as loose, cotton clothing you don’t have to pull over your head. We will also give you specific tools for the most important parts of your recovery, particularly medications, recovery bras and incision care.
Medications
While over-the-counter pain medications may be adequate to handle your discomfort, we may prescribe specific medications to aid recovery for some patients. Muscle relaxers and anti-biotics are commonly prescribed following treatment to make the recovery seamless. Muscle relaxers, in particular, may help you manage any post-operative discomfort.
Recovery Bras
We will give you special bras to wear continuously throughout your recovery. These recovery bras provide support to your breasts and aid in healing. Your surgeon will give you specific directions on how to wear your recovery bras, but it’s common for patients to wear them all day for six to eight weeks of your recovery.
You will be able to take the recovery bra off to shower. You may also be able to remove it for a couple of hours later in your recovery period. Your surgeon will further clarify how to wear recovery bras to get the best results from your surgery.
Incision Care
Your incisions will require certain care to heal well and minimize any possible scarring. Part of your incision care will be directions on how to clean your incisions, such as the type of soap and the temperature of the water that is ideal for cleansing. It’s important to pat dry your incisions.
You can remove the initial bandage from surgery. You should never remove the sutures, surgical glue, or surgical tape along the incisions unless by a medical professional.
What Factors Determine How Much Pain You Should Expect?
In addition to your relative level of pain tolerance, there are a few other factors that will determine how much pain you can expect after your augmentation surgery. These factors include implant size, implant type, implant position and even if you have had a previous pregnancy.
Implant Size
The size of your implant determines the number of cup sizes you can expect to gain following augmentation and the actual weight of the implants themselves.
Larger implants, or implants that increase your breast size by more than one cup, tend to cause greater discomfort during recovery. Smaller implants, those that increase breast size by one cup size or are used to correct the shape of the natural breast, tend to be lighter and do not cause as much pain.
Implant Type
The type of implant may also determine how much soreness you will experience during recovery, again because the implant type generally correlates with weight. Saline implants have a less dense weight than silicone implants, which means they may be moderately more comfortable during recovery.
Implant Position
The position of the implant might be the most telling indicator of how much discomfort you should anticipate. There are two ways to augment the breasts — either sub-muscular or sub-glandular.
The surgeon places submuscular implants beneath the breast muscle, meaning the implant is beneath the entire breast tissue. They tend to cause more soreness during healing because the muscle stretches to accommodate the implant. Sub-glandular implants are those placed between the natural breast tissue and the muscle wall of the chest, and they tend to cause less pain during recovery.
Previous Pregnancy
Some women who have gone through pregnancy and breastfeeding experience less pain overall following augmentation. Many mothers who seek augmentation after childbirth compare the discomfort of recovery to breast engorgement that happens frequently during breastfeeding.
Why Surgeon Experience Matters
The experience of your surgeon matters because an excellent surgeon will know the best methods of implant placement and augmentation techniques to minimize your pain during your recovery period. Your surgeon’s experience also matters if your goal is to have natural-looking results. Experienced surgeons offer personalized recommendations based on your body type, desired outcomes and medical history.
With an Experienced Surgeon, You Don’t Need to Fear Breast Augmentation Pain
It might be surprising, but there isn’t that much pain associated with breast augmentation surgery, especially when you’re in the hands of a skilled surgeon who knows the best implant type and placement to minimize your discomfort during recovery. Contact Soler Cosmetic Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics in Tampa, Florida, to schedule your consultation today!
