After the operation you will wear a bandage and a special bra. Drains which were inserted during the operation to drain blood and wound secretions are usually removed after 24-48 hours.
The bandage will be removed between the 1st and 5th day after the operation, as appropriate. Do not be shocked when the bandage is removed and you see your breast for the first time. The breast will still be swollen, the skin discoloured and sensitive. Your plastic surgeon will recommend that you wear a special bra for a few weeks until the swelling has subsided. The sutures are removed at varying intervals over the next few days.
Many patients are at first disappointed because the improvement in their external appearance is not immediately obvious.
Your surgeon will give you recommendations about what to do after the operation.
This will include, for example, avoiding strenuous physical work, refraining from sport as well as steam-baths and saunas for the first 6 weeks and abstaining from excessive alcohol consumption.
The scars remaining after a breast reduction usually fade in time. Wound healing is a slow process which progresses in stages.
However, you should be aware that scars always remain visible after a breast reduction. If scars are unsightly, subsequent surgical correction may be necessary in some patients.
A breast reduction will not halt the aging process of the skin. However, you can be confident that the success of a breast reduction will last for years as long as your weight does not fluctuate wildly or you become pregnant.
In the event that the shape of your breasts alters again over the years possibly due to hormonal changes and the skin sags due to the aging process, a further breast reduction or breast lift can be carried out along the same scar lines as before.