Discharge instruction after breast reduction or breast lift

Most patients will be ready for home after 1-3 nights stay in hospital. This will be dependent on how well you are mobilizing, your pain control and whether all the surgical drains have been removed.
Dr Teh generally will keep you in hospital until all drains are out but in exceptional cases, you can be discharged home with a drain. A nurse from the hospital will check on the drain daily when you are home.

Have someone drive you home after surgery and help you at home for a minimum of 2-3 days. If you normally reside more than 2 hours drive outside of Perth metropolitan area, you will generally be advised to stay in Perth for the first week after discharge.
Ensure you are well rested and follow a healthy balanced diet. If you have difficulty sleeping, inform Dr Teh’s rooms.
Take pain medication as prescribed. Do not drink alcohol when taking pain medications. Even when not taking pain medications, avoid alcohol for 3 weeks as it causes fluid retention. If you are taking vitamins with iron, resume these as tolerated as well as all your usual medications.
DO NOT SMOKE. Smoking delays healing and increases the risk of infection.
Avoid caffeine (coffee and chocolates) as there is some evidence that this reduces wound healing, causes dehydration and increases blood pressure.
Wear breast garments from the time you begin to start getting up in hospitals. You will need to wear the garments every time you are up and about, for 6 weeks after the surgery.

Pain in the chest soon after surgery will cause you to want to avoid taking deep breaths. However it is important to take deep breaths after your surgery to prevent parts of your lungs from partially collapsing.
Avoid staying in bed for prolonged periods. This will help to reduce swelling and lowers the chance of blood clots.
You may use your arms for activities of daily living for the first three weeks, but do not do any overhead activity until 3 weeks post-op.
Do not drive for 3-4 weeks. When your breasts are sufficiently healed and symptom free to allow for sudden braking, you may resume driving. Do not drive while taking narcotic pain medications.
Discuss time off work with your surgeon but generally most patients will not return to work for 2-3 weeks unless they are performing purely home-based administrative duties
NO heavy lifting or sit-ups for 6- 8 weeks. Refrain from sexual activity. During this time, you will be limited only to light walking.

You will in most cases be discharged with waterproofed dressings. Do not to soak in a bath or spa as the dressings will soak off. A not so lengthy shower is preferred until the sutures have been removed. This usually occurs 2 weeks after surgery.
Avoid exposing scars to sun for at least one year and always use a strong sunblock if sun exposure is unavoidable.
Keep your dressings intact (ie steri-strip or tegaderm). However if you begin to develop an allergy to the glue (itching, redness, blistering), please remove the tape and contact the practice.
Keep incisions clean and inspect daily for signs of infection.
Sleep with pillows under knees for 2 weeks (some patients choose to sleep in recliner or lounge chair).
for more information on wound care, click here.

Maximum discomfort will occur the first few days following surgery. Most patients complain of a generalised ache in the chest. Some will experience a more sharp and stabbing pain. This may indicate nerve related pain (neuralgia) and can be treated if troublesome with medications (ie Lyrica).
Some oozing from the wounds can be expected during this period. Over time, some dissolvable sutures may extrude through the wound edge. These usually have a pimple like appearance which then bursts to extrude suture material.

Expect a degree of bruising which will tend to be worse in the more dependant areas of the breast (ie lower and outer parts of the breast)
The majority of swelling will subside in 3-4 weeks, but some swelling may persist for up to 3 months.

Your 1st post-operative visit will be scheduled approximately 14 days after surgery, sutures will be removed during this visit. Please phone Dr Teh’s Secretary to schedule a post-op appointment when you are discharged from hospital if you do not already have one scheduled.
Your 2nd post-operative visit will be scheduled somewhere between 4-6 weeks from the initial surgery date.

If swelling and redness persists after a few days.
If you develop increased redness along the incisions.
If you have severe or increased pain not relieved by medication.
If you have any side effects to medications; such as, rash, nausea, headache, vomiting.
If you have an oral temperature over 38 degrees.
If you have any yellowish or greenish drainage from the incisions or notice a foul odour.
If you have bleeding from the incisions that is difficult to control with light pressure.
If you have loss of feeling or motion.

Lip Teh Plastic Surgeon