Ask Away!
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the various types of breast surgery that we offer.
At your consultation your surgeon will go through the procedure, the recovery, the associated risks or complications and any other issues that you may wish to discuss.
If you have any questions about your suitability for any of the surgery we offer, you can contact our patient care team and they would be able to advise you over the phone.
It’s important to note that, since every woman’s body is unique, there is no exact timeline for recovery. However, most surgeons agree that a full recovery from more complex breast surgery such as breast reduction surgery, can take on average six weeks or so. However, for some of the smaller and less invasive procedures many women may notice that they feel perfectly fine after about two weeks.
Your surgeon will be able to assess your overall health and give you a more definitive timeline prior to the procedure.
The pain from most breast surgery is usually in the moderate range and generally can be well controlled with medication in the first 1-2 weeks following the surgery. It is important to note that severe or untreatable pain following surgery can mean infection or another complication, so if this were to occur you would be asked to contact the clinic immediately.
Sometimes additional surgeries may be required for patients. To reach optimal results, you may desire to have multiple procedures which may have to be done as separate operations. Also, additional surgery may be needed if you face any complications during or after your procedures like implant rupture or capsular contracture of implants if you are having a breast augmentation. In addition, breasts will age just like any other body part and in the future some woman choose to have additional operations to correct the results of gravity and ageing. During your consultation, you and your surgeon should discuss the possibility of additional procedures.
Most patients may start driving a car one week after surgery as long as they are not taking any pain medications, especially any which can make you drowsy and where it is specifically stated that you should not drive.
If you have ongoing pain issues, then you should refrain from driving until this subsides and is manageable.
Patients will have loss of some feeling or sensation following any procedure where the nipple is subject directly to surgery, including mastopexy and gynaecomastia where the nipple may be required to be repositioned. This loss of feeling may be long lasting in some cases. For patients having augmentation, in most cases this loss of sensation lasts 6-12 months before returning to normal, although even with augmentation, 15% of women have permanent alterations in nipple sensation.
It is recommended that patients begin walking immediately after surgery. However, patients should not perform any intense physical exercise for six weeks following the operation. Physical exercise including weightlifting, cycling, jogging, and other forms of intense activities may cause implants to shift position or cause wound healing problems that may alter the appearance of the breasts after surgery.
This depends on your job and its physical demands. Some general guidelines are: Upper arm movements, like reaching, should be avoided for the first 1-2 weeks. Lifting anything heavier than 2.5 kilos should be avoided for 6 weeks after the operation. This lifting restriction may prevent some patients from returning to work.
Due to the range of surgeries we offer there is a wide range of times, some operations take around 30 minutes for nipple surgery, however a Breast Augmentation or a Breast Reduction may take between 1.5 – 2 hours. The surgeon will advise you of this during your consultation.
In most cases our procedures can be done on a day case basis, that means that you can go home in the same day. This will depend on the complexity of the procedure you want to undergo and whether or not you want to have it done under conscious sedation or a general anaesthetic. Also, for patients travelling to our clinic from a distance it may be advisable to have an overnight stay in case you feel poorly after surgery, the last thing you need is to spend several hours in a car. The surgeon will advise you of this during your consultation.
How each patient scars depends on many factors including genetics. Look at any other scars you have, either from surgery or trauma, to give yourself an idea. Wherever possible scars will be made in places that are hidden , such as under the crease of the breast for augmentation or gynaecomastia patients, however this is not always possible.
Scars can take up to 12 months to settle down to their final appearance and there are several things that may be done to assist with this. We know that gentle massage helps to speed scar maturation and also there are silicone gels on the market which help with scar healing
In the case where implants are used, these now have a long-established history and are under continual development by the manufacturer. Scientific studies indicate that implants are now much more durable than in previous years and in most cases, patients can reasonably expect to have their implants in for 10 years or more.
