Postop Breast Surgery Do’s and Don’ts

Looking to increase your chances of a complication free postop breast augmentation recovery? Then follow these simple recommendations.

Don’t submerge in water

While every surgeon is different (and you should check with your surgeon before believing everything you read on the internet!), submerging your fresh breast aug incisions in water is not a good idea. If you’re bathing in a bath tub or hot tub, just think of all of the filth that collects in the water. All of those bacteria are then in contact with your brand new incisions.

While we don’t recommend submerging in water, we definitely recommend letting soap and water run over the incisions in the shower. This will keep the incisions so fresh and so clean. I know everyone thinks incisions should be kept dry and while there’s nothing wrong with dry, not showering or cleaning the incisions leaves behind sweaty, grimy skin. That can’t be good either.

Check with your doctor but we recommend waiting 6 weeks before submerging your incisions in water. That’s not an arbitrary number. That’s how long it takes for the collagen in your incisions to heal and mature.

The 6-week rule also goes for wearing underwire. While we understand you want to show of your new babies, please wait on the push up bra or underwire. The underwire could theoretically put undue pressure on the incisions so just wait. The implants will naturally ride high initially so you don’t even need the push up bra.

And do we really need to tell you not to use any tobacco products before or after your surgery?! The nicotine can affect the blood vessels bringing oxygen, white blood cells and fibroblasts to your new incisions. All of these blood borne cells help with the healing process. So if there’s nicotine on board, the blood vessels constrict and bring less of those helpful cells to the area, increasing the risk of infection.

If you want to know about smoking other things and whether it’s ok before surgery, you can read more here. Lastly, for a nice summary of what you should and should not do, watch this funny video produced by our office staff!