Breast surgery · After your operation
Recovering After Breast Augmentation
Dr. Steven Ovadia's post-operative instructions for breast augmentation: the first days at home, your surgical bra and dressings, when you can shower, what you can lift, when exercise comes back, how to care for your incisions and scars, and when your follow-up visits are.
Overview
How to use this page
This page is a general guide to recovering from breast augmentation with Dr. Ovadia. It covers the instructions most patients ask about: showering, dressings, the surgical bra, lifting, exercise, scar care, and follow-up visits.
The written instructions you receive from Dr. Ovadia and his team for your own surgery come first. If anything here differs from what you were told, follow your own instructions, and call us if you are unsure.
These are Dr. Ovadia's guidelines for his own patients. Other surgeons have different protocols, and that is normal. If you had surgery with another surgeon, follow their instructions, not this page.
Everyone heals differently. The timings on this page are a general guide, and Dr. Ovadia reviews your timeline with you during your recovery.
The first days
Home from surgery
Going home
Breast augmentation is done under general anesthesia, and most patients go home the same day. You will need an adult to take you home and stay with you the first night.
Wear your surgical bra
Swelling is normal and expected. Wearing your surgical bra is important: the compression helps prevent and minimize swelling and supports the breasts while they heal. Wear it around the clock, taking it off only to shower, until Dr. Ovadia tells you otherwise at one of your follow-up visits.
The stabilization band, if advised
Dr. Ovadia may advise a stabilization band, a wide elastic strap worn across the top of the chest over the bra. It applies gentle downward pressure that helps the implants settle into position. The band is not provided by the office: if he recommends one, he tells you which to buy and how long to wear it. Wear one only if he advises it.
Leave the dressings on
The dressings over your incisions stay in place until your first office visit, about a week after surgery. Do not peel them back to look. If a dressing comes loose or soaks through, call us and we will tell you what to do.
Showering
You may shower 24 hours after surgery. Leave the dressings in place, let the water run over them rather than scrubbing, and pat the area dry before putting your surgical bra back on. No baths, pools, hot tubs, or the ocean for 6 weeks: soaking the incisions raises the risk of infection while they heal.
Pain, medication, and antibiotics
A feeling of pressure or tightness across the chest is common in the first days, more so when the implant is under the muscle. It eases as the tissue relaxes. Take your pain medication as prescribed, and ask us before adding any medication or supplement that was not on your list. If you were prescribed an antibiotic, take it for the full course, even once you feel well.
Rest, with short walks
Rest in the first week, but get up and walk several times a day, starting the day of surgery. Walking helps your circulation and your recovery. Save anything more than that for later.
Massage only if advised
Do not massage the implants unless Dr. Ovadia tells you to. Massage is helpful in some situations and not in others, and it depends on the implant and where it was placed. If it is part of your plan, he shows you how and when at a follow-up visit.
Activity and lifting
What you can do, and when
One rule protects the implants and incisions while they heal: lift nothing heavier than 10 to 15 pounds for 6 weeks. Go easy on the chest muscles in the first weeks. Walking is encouraged from the start. Everything else comes back in stages.
No heavy lifting for 6 weeks
Do not lift anything heavier than 10 to 15 pounds for 6 weeks after surgery. That includes groceries, laundry baskets, pets, and small children. After 6 weeks, build back up to your normal lifting gradually rather than all at once.
Go easy on the chest
In the first weeks, avoid pushing, pulling, and reaching overhead that works the chest muscles: opening heavy doors, pushing a cart, lifting yourself out of a chair with your arms. This matters most when the implant is under the muscle. Everyday reaching is fine.
Walking
Walking is encouraged from the day of surgery. Start with short walks and build up to longer walks outdoors as you feel able.
Getting back to exercise
When you add an activity back, start easy and stop if it causes pain or new swelling. Driving can resume once you are no longer taking prescription pain medication and can turn the wheel and look over your shoulder comfortably.
Incisions and scars
Caring for your incisions
How the incisions heal
The incisions are short and placed where they are hard to see, most often in the fold under the breast. They stay covered by the dressings until your first office visit, and they generally heal well.
Spitting sutures
The incisions are closed with dissolvable stitches under the skin. Occasionally the body pushes one toward the surface before it dissolves, and a small red bump or a thread end appears along the incision. This is called a spitting suture. It is common, it is not an infection, and it does not affect your result. Do not pull on it. Dr. Ovadia or his team can trim it in the office, and the spot settles within a week or two.
Silicone scar strips from 3 weeks
Starting at 3 weeks after surgery, once the dressings are off and the incisions have closed, begin using silicone scar strips over the incision lines. Silicone helps scars stay flat and fade. We will show you how to apply them and how long to wear them each day.
How scars change over time
Scars are permanent, but they fade. They are pink or red at first and fade over a year or more. If the scars will be exposed to sunlight, use sunscreen on them for the first year: sun darkens a healing scar and makes it stand out longer.
Changes in feeling are usually temporary
Changes in nipple or breast feeling can happen after surgery. They usually improve over time. Permanent changes are less common.
Timeline
Recovery at a glance
This is a general guide. Everyone heals differently. During your recovery, Dr. Ovadia will review your timeline with you.
When to call
Call us if you notice any of these
Swelling, bruising, tightness, and soreness are expected and improve over the first weeks. The signs below are different. They can point to bleeding or infection, and they are best taken care of early, so call the office rather than waiting for your next visit.
Reasons to call the office
- One breast suddenly becomes more swollen, firm, or painful than the other
- Spreading redness or warmth around an incision
- Pus or cloudy drainage from an incision, or an open area that is getting larger rather than closing
- A fever
- A dressing that soaks through or comes off before your first visit
- Calf pain or swelling, or shortness of breath
For chest pain, trouble breathing, or heavy bleeding that does not stop with pressure, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Questions during your recovery? Call or email us and we will go over it with you.
Questions
Common questions about recovery
When can I shower after breast augmentation?
You may shower 24 hours after surgery. Leave the dressings in place, let the water run over them rather than scrubbing, pat dry, and put your surgical bra back on. Baths, pools, hot tubs, and the ocean wait 6 weeks.
When do the dressings come off?
At your first office visit, about a week after surgery. Leave them in place until then, and do not peel them back to look. If a dressing comes loose or soaks through, call us.
How much can I lift after breast augmentation?
Nothing heavier than 10 to 15 pounds for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, build back up to your normal lifting gradually rather than all at once.
When can I exercise again?
At about 2 weeks you can generally walk on a treadmill or ride an exercise bike at an easy pace. Running and a faster pace come back at 3 weeks. Heavy lifting, strength training, and chest exercises wait until 6 weeks, and then build back gradually. Everyone heals differently, and Dr. Ovadia reviews your timeline with you during recovery.
How long do I wear the surgical bra?
Around the clock, taking it off only to shower, until Dr. Ovadia tells you otherwise at one of your follow-up visits. The compression matters because it helps prevent and minimize swelling, which is normal and expected after surgery, and it supports the breasts while they heal.
What is the stabilization band for?
It is a wide elastic strap worn across the top of the chest over the bra. It applies gentle downward pressure that helps the implants settle into position. Not everyone needs one. If Dr. Ovadia advises a band for you, he tells you which to buy and how long to wear it. Wear one only if he advises it.
Should I massage my implants?
Only if Dr. Ovadia tells you to. Massage is helpful in some situations and not in others, depending on the implant and where it was placed. If it is part of your plan, he shows you how and when at a follow-up visit.
Do I need antibiotics after surgery?
Only if they were prescribed for you. If they were, take them for the full course as prescribed, even once you feel well.
When do I start the silicone scar strips?
At 3 weeks after surgery, once the dressings are off and the incisions have closed. Silicone helps the scars stay flat and fade. We go over how to apply the strips and how long to wear them each day.
When are my follow-up visits?
Dr. Ovadia's standard schedule is 1 week, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 1 year after surgery. Your own schedule may differ, and at each visit we tell you when the next one is. Follow the plan you are given over the standard one.
Why do my implants look so high?
The breasts are swollen at first, and the implants sit high and feel firm. Over the following weeks and months the swelling goes down and the implants settle into position. By about 3 months much of the swelling has gone and the implants have settled lower and softer.
Do I need sunscreen on my scars?
If the scars will be exposed to sunlight, yes, for the first year. Sun darkens a healing scar and makes it stand out longer. Under clothing or a swimsuit they are covered and need no sunscreen.
When can I go back to work?
Many patients are back to desk work in about a week. Work that involves lifting, pushing, or physical exertion waits longer, in line with the lifting restrictions above. Dr. Ovadia goes over your return to work with you.
Is numbness after breast augmentation normal?
Changes in nipple or breast feeling can happen after surgery. They usually improve over time. Permanent changes are less common.
About the surgery
Considering breast augmentation?
The breast augmentation page covers implant options, placement over or under the muscle, the incisions, gender-affirming breast augmentation, and before-and-after photos. Dr. Ovadia sees patients in New York City and in Jersey City and Millburn, New Jersey.
225 Broadway, Suite 3100, New York, NY
377 Jersey Ave, Suite 440, Jersey City, NJ
90 Millburn Ave, Suite 206, Millburn, NJ
Phone and video consultations available · info@ovadiaps.com