After breast augmentation can I wear an underwire bra?

This is a very common question that occurs during consultation for aesthetic breast surgery. After a breast augmentation I commonly place patients in a surgical bra or sports bra to wear day and night for the first 3 – 4 weeks. After that time they may wear a regular bra during the day, and an underwire bra as long as it feels comfortable. Occasionally, we have patients that have congenital chest wall deformities. In those individuals I may actually start to use an underwire bra at a sooner time frame in order to help recreate and tighten the inframammary fold. In patients who have breast reduction or a full mastopexy, the scar along the inframammary fold is longer and extends along the inside and outside of the chest wall. In those individuals I will refrain from using an underwire bra for 6 – 8 weeks after surgery.

In summary, underwire bras certainly can be used after breast reduction surgery and breast augmentation surgery. The time frame as to when an underwire bra can be worse varies, depending upon the surgery as well as the healing process. As long as the underwire bra feels comfortable, I do allow patients to wear them.

How do I determine how much time I need off work and how much time I need help with my children after cosmetic surgery?

This is a question we always discuss with patients when we find out they do have small children at home. At the time of the consultation, we will discuss the length of surgery and recovery period. Depending upon the type of cosmetic surgery that is being considered, the patient very well may need some help at home for a few days with small children. This time frame could be as short as just one or two days, or potentially a week helping with picking children up, bathing, etc. Regarding work, again, the amount of time off work varies depending upon the type of surgery. With liposuction or breast augmentation, I usually have patients take a long weekend off work. With breast lifts or mastopexies, patients may need a full week off work. If a breast reduction or abdominoplasty is considered and the patient works mainly in a sedentary environment such as office work, I would recommend 2 to 2 112 weeks off work. If the patient is on their feet all of the time, constantly walking and moving around, they may need closer to four weeks off after surgery. For aesthetic facial surgery such as eyelid or cosmetic eyelid surgery or rhinoplasty, I usually tell patients to take a week off work. After a week the sutures and splints have been removed. There will still some bruising present, but by then it has usually faded enough that some make-up can be worn. With a facelift, ideally, I ask patients to try to get a full three weeks off work after surgery. Two weeks would be the absolute minimum, but three weeks would be what I would ask them to try to arrange. At the time of the consultation we will go into more specific details regarding the patient’s particular activities both at work and at home, and discuss the time away from work and how much assistance they will need around the house.