Post-Treatment Care: Mommy Makeover
After a Mommy Makeover, the recovery phase begins as soon as surgery is completed. After you spend your first night in the recovery unit, you’ll be ready to head home the next morning. The next 14 days are important to carry out all instructions given to make sure the recovery happens smoothly. Once home, you’ll take medications such as muscle relaxants and oral pain medications to handle any discomfort such as tightness and pressure in the breasts and abdomen.
Patients may return to some light activity about 10 to 14 days after surgery. Heavy lifting or vigorous exercise that can raise one’s heart rate above 100 beats per minute is not recommended until at least 3 weeks after surgery. Try not to take a full shower until after your drain(s) have been removed. Any compression garment you are wearing from surgery should be worn for at least 6 weeks as it is needed to help reduce swelling as well as to support the abdomen and lower back region. Any surgical bra given is to be worn 5-7 days to which afterward you can start wearing a sports bra that hooks in the front/back.
The recovering patient’s sutures are removed with the surgical tape 10-14 days post-op. Remember that ice therapy is extremely beneficial during the recovery period, applying 20 minutes at a time with 20-40 minutes in between each application. Start ice therapy within the first 72 hours of post-op to help decrease postoperative inflammation and reduce pain.
Another essential element to the recovery process will be breast massaging. At your first Post-Op visit, you will be shown how to administer a very gentle breast massage that will help relax the pectoralis muscle. These massages should be performed for 5-10 minutes twice a day. Around 7-10 days after surgery, the sutures are removed, and then a more aggressive breast massage will need to be done to train the internal scar tissue around the implant to stay away from the implant. You will perform this message for a minimum of 5 minutes twice daily. Each 3-4 weeks after until 3 months out, the breast massages will be more detailed and aid you in full recovery to your mommy makeover.
