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| On the beach in Trinidad |
Most surgeons believe massage to be of critical importance after breast implantation, as it is thought by most to decrease the chances of firming of the breast or capsular contracture. We generally recommend massage, but it must be done in specific ways, so please discuss this with Dr. Yoho during your follow-up visits.
During the first few days after breast implantation, you do not have to massage your breasts because generally they are too tender. But if you can handle a little light massage, this will help you get the best results. The first object of massage is to keep the area above the implant open. In order to do this, you squeeze the bottom of the breast implant and breast with your thumb on one side and your fingers on the other, several times a day. Again, these techniques must be individualized, so if your breasts are taped up or you are in a special garment, don't massage it until after your first follow-up visit.
The other wonderful thing about massage is that you can reshape your breasts, particularly in the first few months after your implantation, with the proper massage. For example, in order to lower or increase the pocket in an area that seems to need a larger pocket, in other words, if there is a little flat area, pull up on the skin right next to the fold, push the implant down, and massage right along the fold with your other hand. We will demonstrate this technique in follow-up. If your fold seems too high on one side, you can lower the fold a bit by doing this type of massage. Examine the lower part of your breasts where the chest skin meets the upward swell of your breast, so you can understand the curve and how each breast is different, because they are always a little bit different. You can dramatically improve your breast implant results by the proper massage.
We also use a variety of support bras to improve the result. We strongly recommend that most patients wear bras continuously for the first nine to twelve months after the breast implant procedure. Many patients are a candidate for a properly fitting under-wire bra relatively soon after the surgery, but if you have an under-wire bra that sticks into your breast, that's not proper so please don't wear anything like this. If you're having discomfort, we want to know about it and see you as soon as possible. Please stay in close contact over the telephone and by coming in for your follow-up as directed in order to achieve the best results. Remember that your surgery is not done the moment you leave the office, because if you don't follow up and you don't follow our instructions properly, you may have breasts that hang too low, or have one breast higher than the other, or run into a variety of other complications. Rarely do we need to perform a second surgery to improve a result, and this is generally not necessary in a patient who is able to follow directions about bra wear and massage properly.
