Is this normal for a week after surgery?
I am 20 years old and had a baby at 15. I breastfed my child causing me to go from a D cup while feeding to a saggy empty flaps of skin for breasts. I have been dreaming of breast surgery ever since.
I had my breast augmentation surgery on December 3rd. I got 575ccs in my left breast and 550 ccs in the right. I'm in a 34 D or 36 DD sports bra. I bounce back and forth for comfort. My implants are saline and under the muscle. I also had a pain ball and the doctor told my boyfriend to take it out that following Saturday. The last few days I started massaging my breasts to help them drop and relieve some pressure because my chest is so tight and it hurts a lot. My right breast is having a lot more pain and is bruised a lot. As I'm massaging I'm noticing I can feel spots where my bag is and it's worrying me a lot: is this permanent? Also my nipple area is really numb, will I get feeling back? I have a sharp pain sensation in my left under arm: is this normal? I'm very worried about these things mostly about if you will always be able to feel the bag. Please if anyone can answer these questions I would be so grateful. Thank you.
Many of the conditions you mention are quite normal after surgery especially in the first week. During the first several weeks after a breast augmentation there are a great many changes that will take place. After surgery the swelling typically increases for 4-5 days usually peaking about day 5. It will take about 6-8 weeks for 80% of that swelling to resolve and although after about a month the breasts will begin to look better, it will be 4-6 months for the entire relaxation and softening process to take place. Feeling the implant is common when using saline implants.
Be patient with recovery phase of your surgery but do talk to your Plastic Surgeon and/or his nurse to get specific answers to specific concerns that you have.
It sounds as though you started out with a flaccid breast and inadequate soft tissue coverage. To fill up the redundant and loose skin, your surgeon guided you toward using relatively large implants. It is not uncommon to have the symptoms of pain and numbness that you are experiencing for many weeks after sub-muscular breast augmentation, especially when using a larger implant. The good news is that the pain and much of the numbness should resolve soon. Unfortunately, though, feeling the "bag" (implant edges) and having some rippling is something that usually comes with using a large, saline, implant under a breast with poor tissue camouflage. Those symptoms could get worse with time. There may be alternatives, such as using a smaller implant with a mastopexy (breast lift), using silicone gel implants, and/or using an ADM (biological internal dressing) in an attempt to add more soft tissue coverage. Often times, the best choice is merely the better of other, lesser, alternatives.