What to Wear After Your Breast Enhancement Surgery
Regardless of the type of breast enhancement surgery you are having with Dr. Bartell, your body will be undergoing many changes over the next few months. These changes will reshape your body to look the way you’ve always wanted it to. They will also cause your current clothes to fit you differently, or possibly not fit you at all. As this is a positive change, we encourage you to treat yourself to new clothes, but not until after you have fully recovered from your procedure. The most common surgeries are breast enhancement surgeries, and what to wear after your surgery as well as once you’ve healed can be confusing and frustrating to some. We want to help you with clothes post surgery.
Breast Enhancements with Dr. Bartell
Breast Augmentations
A breast augmentation procedure is performed for women who want to enlarge the size and shape of their breasts. During the short 45 minute surgery, breast implants are inserted through incisions in certain locations of the patient’s body. Many women have this surgery done elsewhere and end up with scarring on their chests, but Dr. Bartell is the only Madison-area, board-certified plastic surgeon who can perform a scarless breast augmentation, as he uses small incisions in the patient’s armpits to place their implants. These scars fade within six months of surgery.
Breast Reductions
There are many women who naturally have large breasts, and for some, the weight of their breasts can cause serious back, neck and shoulder problems. A breast reduction helps these women by reducing the size of their breasts, taking the weight and pressure off of their bodies. This procedure often takes a bit longer than a breast augmentation as Dr. Bartell must carefully remove skin, fat and breast glands from the patient’s breasts to lessen their size.
Breast Lifts
It is common for a woman’s breasts to begin to sag as they age, especially after they have nursed children. As with everywhere else, skin loses elasticity. This can cause breasts to lose their firmness and roundness, flattening them against women’s chests and lowering them to their stomachs. During a breast lift procedure Dr. Bartell is able to lift the nipples as well as the breasts to a more youthful look, creating a “sling” to hold the breasts up higher and inserting small implants if more volume is required.
What Can You Wear Clothes Post Surgery?
After breast enhancement surgery, patients’ bra sizes will most likely change, and they may need to be fitted for new bras once the healing process is complete. Shirts, too, can end up fitting differently. Patients often find they have to buy new tops along with new bras after these types of surgeries.
Once you have had your breast enhancement surgery, you will need time to properly heal before you try on new clothing.
Your Healing Time
Dr. Bartell highly recommends wearing looser fitting, more comfortable clothes in the first week after surgery. Do not go clothes shopping until your swelling has fully subsided. If you aren’t sure whether or not you are ready to buy new clothing to fit your new shape, be sure to ask Dr. Bartell first. Many patients do not see the full effects of their procedure for at least several months. If you get fitted for a bra before your body has fully recovered, it may fit differently the next month, so follow your post operative instructions fully.
A Perfect Fit – Clothes Post Surgery
Once you have healed enough after your surgery, you can be fitted for new bras. Your bra band size most likely will not go up or down, but the cup size will be different. There are ways to measure your own bra size at home, but you will not get the most accurate reading. Instead, a professional bra fitting is the best way to find your correct bra size as well as find bras that are perfect for your size and shape. There are a few places around Madison, Wisconsin that offer professional bra fittings:
There are many women who wear bras that do not fit them, which is why a professional bra fitting is so beneficial. Your bra needs to fit snugly yet be completely comfortable to wear. Your breast should fill the cup, not spill out of it or leave gaps between you and the fabric. You should not have to adjust the straps after the initial fitting if your bra fits correctly, nor should the underwire dig into you. Be sure to ask plenty of questions at your bra fitting.
The New You
Making the decision to have breast enhancement surgery is a big one, but it can greatly improve your life and self confidence. Dr. Bartell and his staff will be there for you the entire way, before and after your procedure. If you ever have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our office.