The decision to undergo breast augmentation surgery can be an intimidating and thrilling one. Although the surgery has numerous great benefits, most people are often unaware as to what exactly they should expect after the procedure. Once you finish with your research on breast augmentation in Atlanta and commit to working with an experienced surgeon, you can take a deep breath of relief because most of the hard work has officially come to an end! Now, all you have to do is focus on the instructions your surgeon gives you to ensure that you are physically prepared to undergo the procedure and achieve an optimal recovery.
Typically, the breast augmentation surgery will encompass three stages including, consultation, operation and finally recovery. In each phase, there will be lots of instructions you will need to follow for the recovery of the breast implant surgery. Once the surgery is over, some questions like how long will the period of recovery last? How will you feel post-op may be your top areas of concern? Here’s what you can expect after a breast implant surgery.
Upon Waking from Surgery
When you wake up from the surgery, the first thing you will probably feel is somewhat groggy. This happens especially if your surgeon, experienced like the ones at Crispin Plastic Surgery injected a general anesthesia prior the surgery. If you had “twilight anesthesia” you would not be conscious but in a sedated state and may still experience grogginess. However, generally speaking, you will wake up much sooner. With twilight sedation, postoperative vomiting or nausea are also less of risks.
Should You Feel Nauseous Post-Op?
After the surgery, you may and may not experience vomiting/nausea. During the surgery, if you had intravenous medications (anti-nausea), you have a much better chance of not experiencing stomach upset. In case this isn’t so, you can inform your plastic surgeon, attending nurse, or anesthesiologist who could give you Zofran (a strong anti-nausea medication.)The surgeons may also offer some pain killers, crackers, and soda.
What Should Your Post-Op Experience Be Like?
For every individual, the breast augmentation surgery post-op experience varies. For you, the recovery phase may be very easy, while a friend may face more difficulty. Read on below and go through the list of what you should expect during the recovery phase. However, when going through the list, don’t let anything discourage you. Most of the common experience like fluid retention, tiredness, and constipation can occur after ANY surgery. It is best that you consult your surgeon and doctors, share your medical history to find out what your recovery phase should be like.
- Pressure or Tightness in the Chest: If the surgeons placed the implants under the muscle, you are sure to experience pressure and tightness. The pectoral muscles have breast plants right underneath them, and they need some time to stretch out over the breast implants. Eventually, when the muscles stretch gradually, the tightness feeling will dissipate (about two weeks duration). Some plastic surgeons and women describe this feeling as though an elephant is sitting on your chest. Others also describe it as badly pulled muscles, or the after feeling of excessive pushups.
- Tightness in the Morning: upon waking up in the morning a few days after the surgery, you would feel stiff. This is a normal feeling and fades away when you get up and move around. For several weeks, this is something that persists but becomes manageable with the passing days.
- Engorgement Feeling: If you have experienced pregnancy, you know exactly what feeling engorgement brings. However, if you haven’t had children, here’s what you should know. Right after a few days of giving birth, milk begins to form in the breasts. If not fed to your baby, great pressure builds up in the breasts. After breast implants, many women experience this same pressure and usually fades away within one week after the surgery.
- Sore Creases: Another common feeling right after a breast implant surgery is sore creases. Most times, the creases need to be lowered for the implants to be centered right behind the areola/nipple. This may cause the creases to be sore and tender after the surgery.
- Swelling/Bruising: After most major surgeries, swelling and bruising are common experiences. Sometimes, bruising could last longer and move downward rather than disappearing. For a few days, swelling can occur in the cleavage area, which feels spongy and mushy with some pain.
Other common things you can experience include constipation, muscle spasms, back pain, loss of appetite, itching/dry flaky skin on the breasts, and soreness. Breast augmentation is a surgical procedure that requires some good number of days before it finally heals. Take your time for the recovery period, and make sure that you consult your surgeon in case of any complications or abnormalities you encounter during this phase.
