Other things to expect post-operatively in the near future:
- You should be aware of the signs of infection during the immediate healing process: increased warmth in a discrete area - usually includes an incision area and the skin immediately around it, redness or exquisite tenderness in the same areas, drainage from incisions and fever.
- Expect to see your breasts positioned high, for them to feel hard, and possibly uneven. This will resolve but can take several weeks or even months to fully settle in position. The muscle and skin have to stretch and this can take time. Sub-glandular implants tend to settle faster than sub-pectoral.
- Bruising should resolve about 7 - 10 days post surgery.
- Pain should diminish as the muscles stretch. You might have discomfort in your arms and back - this should resolve quickly. Take your pain medications. Constipation is a result of taking pain medications - use stool softeners.
- Nipple sensation can be highly variable after breast augmentation surgery. You can expect your nipples to be anywhere from annoyingly sensitive to normal to numb immediately after surgery. Extremes should resolve in days to months. A small percentage of patients will have permanent nipple numbness.
- You might hear or feel sloshing or gurgling in your breasts. The tissues are full of fluid post-operatively, part of the body's response to surgery. As the fluid gets resorbed, the sounds will resolve.
- Itching is common after surgery because nerve endings were inevitably cut during surgery. Itching will resolve, the nerves will regenerate.
- Scars will take a full year to mature - if you're considering scar revision surgery, wait for that time to pass and then reassess their appearance before discussing it with your surgeon.
- After breast augmentation a thin fibrous capsule forms around the implant - the body's reaction to a foreign object. This is called capsule formation. Extensive capsule formation can compress the implant into a sphere. Surgeons grade the "capsular contracture" on a scale ranging from clinically insignificant to significant - where the breast appears unnatural, almost spherical. This is more common with subglandular placement and with smooth implants. If it occurs, it usually happens within the first six months. Treatment may range from simple observation to "surgical release."
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