Care After Breast Implants
Care After Breast Implants
You had a procedure called breast augmentation (enlargement). It is also known as augmentation mammoplasty. This surgery enhances the size and shape of a woman’s breasts. Women choose breast augmentation to enlarge breast size, to correct a reduction in breast size after pregnancy, to balance a difference in breast size, or to reconstruct the breast following breast surgery or mastectomy. Here’s what you need to do after this procedure.
Activity
Don’t raise your arms above breast level until your healthcare provider says it’s OK. This prevents the implants from shifting.
Don’t lift, push, or pull anything heavier than 10 pounds for at least 5 to 7 days.
Sleep on your back. Use pillows to keep the upper part of your body elevated.
Don’t drive until your healthcare provider says it’s OK.
Other home care
Keep an ice pack on your chest to relieve discomfort and to avoid extra swelling. Put the ice pack on for 20 minutes; then leave it off for 20 minutes. Repeat as often as necessary.
Wear the special bra or bandage you were given before discharge as directed by your healthcare provider. Expect to wear the bra or wrap 24 hours a day for about 3 to 4 weeks. You may remove it when you shower, starting 3 days after your surgery.
Shower as necessary, starting 3 days after surgery. Gently wash your incision site. Pat the incision dry. Don’t apply lotions, oils, or creams.
Don't submerge your incision in a tub bath until it is completely closed. Doing so may introduce bacteria and cause an infection.
You will have a dressing over your incisions. Be sure to ask your healthcare provider how to care for your dressing. Your stitches may dissolve on their own. Or, they may be removed at a follow-up appointment. If you have small white adhesive strips at your incision sites, don't remove them. They will come off on their own.
Make an appointment to have your stitches or staples removed in 7 to 10 days.
Remember, the swelling in your breasts may take 3 to 5 weeks to disappear.
Take your medicine exactly as directed.
Follow-up
Make a follow-up appointment, or as directed.
When to call your healthcare provider
Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following:
Trouble breathing
Sudden shortness of breath or gradual shortness of breath that gets worse
Sudden chest pain
Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or chills
Bleeding or drainage through the special bra or bandage
Pain that is not relieved by medicine; increasing pain, with or without activity
More soreness, swelling, or bruising on one breast than the other
Redness, or breasts that feel warm to the touch
Any rapid swelling in one area or breast
Updated:  
June 06, 2017
Reviewed By:  
Brown, Kim, APRN,Lickstein, David, MD