The procedure takes about two hours. I would recommend that you stay in hospital for one night. You will have two drains. The drains remain for a week. I have to see you once a week until all the wounds are healed. That may take anything from four to twelve weeks. The greater your body weight the longer the wounds will take to heal.
The surgical procedure starts with incisions or cuts. Those will be the scars that you will ultimately see on your breasts. I perform the majority of large breast reductions via the inverted T incision. This type of cut in my hands give the most beautiful breast shape. A better shape at the expense of scarring.
I try to keep the vertical component of the scar as short as possible. Initially this leads to puckering of the scar which after a period of about six months settles in to a short flat scar.
Below follows an illustration of the scar you may expect. After the surgery I commence a specific scar protocol to limit and aid scarring.
You will be placed in a comfortable bra in theatre. The procedure I not very painful.
The wounds should be kept clean and dry for two weeks after the procedure. Ideally you should have a dressing change weekly after the surgery in the dressing clinic until satisfactory wound healing have been achieved.
You will go home on pain medication and antibiotics which should be used as instructed. Drains remain until it drains less than 60 ml in two consecutive days.
We recommend that you do not drive during the first 7-14 days after the operation. Movement and exercise should be limited during the first six weeks after surgery. As a rule of thumb you should not be doing anything that causes pain and discomfort.
Cosmetic surgery is an important and exciting decision.
It is important to understand that although the change following surgery is immediate the overall aesthetic improvement can only be appreciated at six months to a year following the surgery.
