How Painful is Breast Augmentation?

07 Aug 2023

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Pain is an usual side-effect of breast augmentation surgery. It is quite common to feel shooting pains, tingling pains, and numbing six to twelve months after having breast augmentation surgery. If you have some concerns about the pain you are suffering, you should talk to your surgeon.

After having breast augmentation, you can feel pain not only in your breast but also in other body parts like your back and the shoulders around your breasts. You are in a period where your body is adapting to its new shape, your new breasts.

In this article, we will focus on factors affecting the level of pain in breast augmentation and how to manage pain and discomfort. We will also mention the procedure of breast augmentation and finally, you will read about when to consult a doctor after the surgery.

The Procedure of Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation is a surgery that is performed by certified and experienced surgeons in their field by placing either breast implants behind the breast tissue or under the chest muscle. A breast implant can be either silicone-based or saline-based. Breast augmentation surgery is done in an hospital or surgery clinic. You should check if the medical centers that you are searching for have breast augmentation surgery and if they have good references.

Patients receive general anesthesia and the operation lasts one and a half hours. There is another option for breast augmentation, fat transfer augmentation. Instead of the implants, fat from a body part is used in that option.

Pain and Discomfort After Breast Augmentation

Women prefer having breast augmentation for different reasons, but one thing makes them step back at the decision stage: pain. But do not worry and try thinking in that way: people tend to exaggerate their experience with pain after having surgery, in the recovery period. Bear in mind that the pain also may depend on many personal factors.

After waking up after having breast augmentation, as your body is in an adaptation period you may feel tenderness where your new breast is. About five days from the surgery as healing starts, you will feel a bit more uncomfortable. After one month, you will feel less pain.

Factors Affecting the Level of Pain in Breast Augmentation

As we mentioned before, pain depends on many factors. Personal differences like having a pain tolerance play a big role in that. On the other hand, there are non-personal factors affecting the level of pain after breast augmentation. Some of them may be lined up as below:

Implant size: You may have greater discomfort with bigger implants compared to smaller implants.
Implant position: Sub-glandular implants tend to cause less pain as they are placed between tissue and the chest wall.
Implant type: Saline implants tend to cause less pain as they are lighter.
Previous pregnancy: If you have breastfeeding experience, you may feel less pain.

Managing Pain and Discomfort After Breast Augmentation

Remember that you are not the first person to have breast augmentation surgery. Your surgeon is an expert and your surgeon and the other medical staff in the hospital where you had breast augmentation have helped many people having breast augmentation surgery before. They will tell you how to cope with the pain and discomfort after breast augmentation.

The surgeon is a very important factor for a patient feel less pain after breast augmentation. If your surgeon is skilled, that means he or she knows which breast implant type is best for you and how to place them with less discomfort. Work with your surgeon and the all medical staff as a team.

Recovery Process After Breast Augmentation

At this point following the instructions is very important. After one month, you can back to daily activities but still should avoid strenuous activities. The full recovery period is between four to six weeks and depends on each patient. Your surgeon will schedule appointments to see the changes in your condition.

Here are some recovery tips to help heal fast:

Rest, as much as possible, especially feeling tired.
Eat bland food.
Drink water often.
Avoid lifting heavy stuff.
Wear a supporting surgical bra.

If you have nipple pain, areola pain, post-op pain, or abdominal pain after breast augmentation surgery, these tips may help you to cope with the pain which will disappear in time.

When to Consult a Doctor After Breast Augmentation

It is common to feel pain two weeks after breast augmentation. After the surgery, you will experience some side effects. The two main side effects of breast augmentation are swelling and bruising. They will disappear in time as well.

You must consult a doctor after breast augmentation if you notice these warnings; excessive bleeding, infection, and blood clot. The other important signs for calling a doctor are:

Chest pain
Redness
Dizziness
Fever
Chills
Headache
Vomiting
Nausea
Excessive tiredness
Warmth

The doctor may add new medicine to your breast augmentation surgery pain medication or suggest not to take some medicine on prescription anymore according to your response to them.