Breast augmentation today is easier than ever before!….That is certainly the marketing hype and there is a lot of truth to it. But to call the recovery after breast augmentation as….no recovery….easy….or painless as some advertisements suggest is to not be completely truthful. All surgery induces some pain, swelling, and bruising. Breast augmentation is not different.
Breast augmentation is most commonly done today by placing the implant under the pectoralis muscle. (although there is a recent trend back to above the muscle for some plastic surgeons) By putting the implant submuscular, the muscle is stretched, traumatized, and even some fibers are cut. This makes the muscle sore, swollen and difficult to stretch. This also makes the upper arm hard to lift up very far. In essence, submuscular breast augmentation requires physical therapy for recovery.
While breast augmentation can not be recovery free, its recovery can be shortened. This is made possible by early and aggressive physical therapy. Breast augmentation physical therapy starts the night of surgery and consists of range of motion exercises of the arm. By early stretching of the arm in circles and by raising the arm from one’s side to the level of the shoulder and above, the pectoralis muscle is mobilized. Stretching helps loosen up the injured muscle fibers and prevent restrictive scar formation.
This form of pectoralis physical therapy, combined with anti-inflammatory drugs such as Alleve and Ibuprofen, allows one to get moving very early. While swelling, a little bruising, and some pain can be expected, early physical therapy can lessen its effects to just a few days. Even in the worst-case scenario, one should have a significant recovery by one week.
One other helpful recovery aid I use in my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice is the ActiPatch. This is a small battery-operated battery device that emits pulsed electromagnetic fields that penetrate the breast tissue and help reduce swelling and inflammation. I have my patients wear it as a loop over the breasts for the first 36 hours. It is easy to wear it inside one’s bra as the loop fits over much of the breast mound.
Rapid recovery breast augmentation is a reality through a combination of early physical therapy, anyi-inflammatory medications, and the ActiPatch device. Significant recovery should be a matter of days not weeks.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana