What’s Recovery Like After Breast Augmentation?
In this Q&A video, Dr. Phil Haeck explains what to expect after a breast augmentation. When you can expect to wash your hair, walk, go to the gym and get back to your every day life. Dr. Haeck also explains what to expect if you push yourself too hard and the consequences.
Hi, I’m Dr. Phil Haeck and I’m a Board-Certified plastic surgeon in Seattle, Washington. I work for The Polyclinic Plastic Surgery. I’ve been doing breast augmentation surgery for 25 years.
Women want to know what’s recovery like for a breast augmentation? There’s several issues. Basically, you need about a week to get over the affects of the surgery itself. After a breast augmentation there might be some restrictions. Those might include no exercising for up to a month or to six weeks but you can walk as soon as the next day. And in fact, I’d like you walking around within a few days. It’s going to open up your lungs. It’s going to get your lungs wide open. If you just sit in a chair and hug yourself for three days, we might have some problems getting you going.
I don’t want you doing a push-up obviously but you can carry a light grocery bag within a week. You can do your hair in the shower every day after surgery. You can reach for that glass on the upper shelf. If you have little babies however, I don’t want you picking up a two-year old who might kick you in your breast afterwards.
So there’s some reasons why we have restrictions after breast augmentation and one of them is any activity that will raise your blood pressure or your heart rate might also open up a blood vessel that was cauterized during surgery. If that starts to bleed, you may have to go back to surgery to have it stopped or it might give you enough bruising and swelling that it’s going to take you longer to recover.