Guide:
- How Long Should I Take Off Work For Breast Augmentation?
- When Does Swelling And Bruising Fade After Breast Augmentation?
- How Long Does Pain Last After Breast Augmentation?
- When Will I See The Final Results And Feel Normal After Breast Augmentation?
- Are You Ready To Invest In Confidence With Your Breasts?
Stepping toward self-confidence by getting a breast augmentation is considered life-changing for many women. Some women visit Dr. Liland for breast augmentation because they have felt insecure during adulthood with the lack of volume in their breasts. Others because aging, gravity, breastfeeding, or all of the above has caused them to lose the voluminous breasts they once had.
Breast augmentation is an investment toward newfound self-esteem by achieving the breasts you’ve dreamed of having. You’re not only investing the money it costs but also investing your time. Breast augmentation requires a lengthy recovery period, and you should make preparations before undergoing this confidence-boosting procedure.
Although Dr. Liland’s patients are eager to see their final results and return to their usual routines with their newly enhanced breasts, they always share that following instructions during their recovery helped them achieve their dream results and was worth the wait.
How Long Should I Take Off Work For Breast Augmentation?
The exact amount of time you need to take off work for your breast augmentation journey is dependent on a few specific factors, including:
- The type of job you have
- The extent of your procedure
- The placement of your implant
- How your body naturally heals
Desk Jobs
If you have a desk job, you should feel ready to return to work just one week after your breast implant surgery. Most of the intense post-op pain, swelling, bruising, and fatigue dissipate by this point. Sitting at a desk all day may cause fatigue, so try to take it slow by working a little more each day and talk to your boss ahead of time about how you may feel during these first few weeks post-op.
Physical Jobs
If your job requires more activity, your doctor will recommend taking two weeks or more off work to ensure your body is getting adequate time to heal. Giving your body enough time to rest will make you feel more comfortable and alert once you begin your usual work routine.
During your breast augmentation consultation with Dr. Liland, he will ask you about the specifics of your job so he can give you reasonable recommendations for how long you will need to be off work. It’s always better to book more days off than required and go in earlier if you’re feeling up to it than not enough and unable to start as early as you thought.
The length of your recovery depends on whether your surgery includes other procedures. For example, it is common for breast augmentation to form part of a mommy makeover along with a tummy tuck. Implants with a breast lift are a frequent surgery to enhance the breasts and lift them to a higher position if they have begun to droop with age, pregnancy, or breastfeeding.
If your implant placement is underneath the pectoral muscle rather than over, you’ll experience more muscle soreness and may have a slightly extended recovery period.
For the first 4-6 weeks, we recommend avoiding lifting anything that may strain you, including children, groceries, weights at the gym, heavy backpacks, etc. Lifting can stretch your incisions, raise your blood pressure, and cause complications with your healing. You must not lift anything above your head so you heal faster without pulling on the internal structures. Dr. Liland usually tells patients they are safe to lift their arms above their heads at about the 4-week post-op mark, so if your job requires this activity, you’ll need to take enough time off or adjust your working for this period.
When Does Swelling And Bruising Fade After Breast Augmentation?
Swelling and bruising will gradually fade as you heal, and while the worst of it improves after about a week, it will be much less noticeable after about 3-4 weeks. Applying cold compresses can help reduce swelling that will take at least six weeks to resolve.
How Long Does Pain Last After Breast Augmentation?
You’ll experience the most intense pain of your breast augmentation healing during the first 24 hours post-op. We’ll prescribe pain medications to reduce the pain and discomfort as much as possible. By the 4-6 week mark, you should feel little to no pain from your surgery.
When Will I See The Final Results And Feel Normal After Breast Augmentation?
You’ll likely feel eager to see your final results immediately after surgery, but implants take time to settle into your body and reach their final placement. You’ll notice an immediate change in the size of your breasts, but the final shape and position take time to form.
You should feel normal and start to notice your new breasts take shape about the 6-8 weeks mark after your breast augmentation, but it can take up to 3-4 months for final results to show, depending on how your body heals. Be patient with your body’s natural healing process as the swelling resolves and the skin stretches with the added volume. Dr. Liland may have you visit our office for a follow-up appointment to ensure the implants have settled into place properly.
Just as it takes time to notice your results, it also takes time to feel normal and ready to do your usual activities. Even if you feel ready to restart your routine after just two weeks, don’t overestimate your body because it can lead to complications with your results that may eventually require revision surgery. Your incisions need time to heal before you can get back into strenuous activities such as lifting weights, running, or physically straining your body at work.
We typically recommend patients begin light activity like walking after about three weeks, gradually moving more each day. Walking is excellent for healing as it improves blood flow and prevents complications like pneumonia. Again, you should discontinue more strenuous activities until your doctor tells you it is safe, usually around the 6-week mark for Dr. Liland’s patients.
Are You Ready To Invest In Confidence With Your Breasts?
If you’re considering breast augmentation and feel prepared to invest time away from work to achieve your goals, request a consultation with Dallas plastic surgeon Dr. David Liland, renowned for bringing patients’ breast augmentation goals to life. During this in-depth consultation, he will help you find the best implant size, shape, texture, and profile.