Breast Augmentation Recovery
Breast Augmentation is an out-patient procedure and is usually performed under general anaesthesia. A regular daily routine can be retained after a day or two but one must not get back to strenuous activities such as working out, lifting and dancing for the next 4-6 weeks. The pain and discomfort subside in a week’s time but the area is extremely sensitive and needs rest. Patients must resume all activity only after consulting with the surgeon.
During the recovery period, there are certain precautions and some instructions that patients need to follow religiously to recover properly and healthily. For the recovery to be smooth and minimize the discomfort, the breasts post-surgery are wrapped in gauze dressings and a specialized compression garment to minimize the swelling and accelerate the healing process.
The compression garment is prescribed to be worn 24X7 for 4 weeks post operation to maintain the shape and contour, except for the bathing and cleaning times. After the first 4 weeks of continuous wearing, the patient is advised to wear compression garment only during the day. The compression garment is essential and helps to control postoperative swelling, prevents the collection of unwanted fluids around the sutures, improves the breast contour and prevents scarring too.
Immediately after the surgery, patients are transferred to a recovery area and are monitored closely for a few hours, until they are stable and ready to be discharged. This period of closed monitoring is important to avoid any immediate complications.
As the patients are ready to leave the clinic, they are taken for a small post-surgery consultation with the surgeon. This consultation includes the prescription of requisite medicines, antibiotics, pain-killers (if need be) and the instructions to take absolute care in the recovery period. Based on the intensity of sutures the surgeon may ask the patient to cleanse the suture sites with medicated water, apply ointments or keep wearing the compression garment. Care instructions vary from patient to patient and condition to condition. It is important to follow the instructions to the T to make sure the healing is not disturbed and the results are absolute.
Compression Garment
Compression garment or belt is used after breast augmentation to maintain the contours and shape achieved at the operation table. The compression garment is imperative. It is to be worn 24/7 for at least 4 weeks except for bathing and self-cleaning times. After this, the patients are required to wear it for another 3 weeks for daytime and are allowed to remove for the night. Compression garments help control the Postoperative Swelling. It helps to reduce the swelling and to keep it under control by applying pressure on tissues and pushing the fluid back into veins and lymphatic vessels.
It is recommended to get a compression garment customized to one’s size. As Dr Rajat Gupta, a well-renowned plastic surgeon says “not one size fits all”, and he usually recommends customized compression garments from SwellCure, a company based in Delhi that manufactures pressure garments according to the shape and size of the patient. This helps to achieve even better results post-op.
