Breast Augmentation: Cost, Reviews, Photos

After breast augmentation, your breasts will be swollen from the surgery itself and the use of a post surgical bra. This acute swelling will improve daily for the first 2-4 weeks.

The breast shape will improve during this time, but the size determination and final appearance of your breasts may take as long as 6 months to a year for the tissue to heal fully and your breast shape to be appreciated. Approaching this time, you will be able to know exactly what bra size to wear. (Joel B. Beck, MD, FACS, Bay Area Plastic Surgeon)

Post Operative Swelling

Duration of swelling after breast augmentation depends on a number of factors.

Submuscular placement of the implant usually entails longer swelling than over the muscle this is largely due to the extent of soft tissue dissection during surgery.

Patients should expect abut 7-10 days before most swelling subsides. Limiting activity post operatively may shorten this time. The superior pole fullness usually seen after submuscular implant placement is due partly to pectoral muscle swelling but represents the temorary height of the implant before it “drop” into the surgical pocket.

This phenomenon may take three weeks or more and does not always happen simultaneously for both breasts. Hand holding is often (Marshall T. Partington, MD, FACS, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling after a breast augmentation photos

After getting a breast augmentation done (whether silicone or saline), it could take approximately a few weeks to a couple months for the swelling to go completely down.

Everybody is different, everybody heals differently and some faster than others. Once the breast augmentation swelling is completely gone your cup size will be where you want it to be, guaranteed. (Mel T. Ortega, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)

Photos of swelling after breast augmentation

Most of the swelling will be resolved by three weeks, but do not buy expensive new bras for three to four months as there will be subtle softening and shape changes during this time that will makes some bras fit better than others. (Patti A. Flint, MD, Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon)

Wait 5 weeks before you judge your bra size

After a breast augmentation procedure, swelling may be experienced for up to four to five weeks, so swelling may be causing you to currently need a D cup. After five weeks you should be able to start shopping for a new bra size.

In some cases, minor swelling may last for a couple of months, but after five weeks swelling should have significantly decreased and any minor swelling that is still present should not affect your breast size or bra size significantly. It should be also noted that not all bras will fit the same way, and you may be a C cup in one brand and a D cup in another brand. (Norman G. Morrison, MD, FACS, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Post-surgical swelling will take months to completely resolve

Swelling occurs with almost every surgery. It usually peaks after 3 days and then starts to subside. Compression can help minimize the overall degree of swelling you obtain.

The swelling will start to go down in the first 3 weeks. It will take months, however, for the swelling to completely resolve. Although everyone is different, a general rule of thumb is that you will be 90% done by 3 months and 100% done by 6 months. Most people know their final bra size within that 3-6 month window. (Derek J. Shadid, MD, Oklahoma City Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling

Depends where you shop. I do not initially try to obtain a certain cup size with the implant selection on any patient. As you know, a cup size is not like a shoe size- they’re not calibrated. You might be more swollen than you think. Your ultimate cup size will depend upon where you shop.

The Victoria’s Secret C is certainly smaller than a Wal-Mart C. The metric of cup size is something that is somewhat of a fallacy and a pitfall for the patient and the surgeon to try and talk in those terms.

The main way to make you happy with your implant selection is to have you see yourself in a bra with the implant size and base width with your surgeon. Seeing other pictures allows you to see his results with other people.

I tell most people to shop for new bras at 3-4 weeks post op, because even if you have a little more swelling to resolve, it won’t be enough to have to make a return. (Paul Vanek, MD, Cleveland Plastic Surgeon)