Breast Reduction Recovery Timeline: Work, Exercise, Driving, Scars, and Support Bras
QUICK ANSWER
How long does breast reduction recovery take?
Short-term recovery from breast reduction surgery takes two to three weeks, but the full breast reduction recovery timeline, including the time it takes for all swelling to go away, can take up to three to six months.
Breast reduction surgery (i.e., reduction mammoplasty) removes fat, tissue, and skin to reshape the breast and make it lighter. It is the eighth most common plastic surgery procedure, with approximately half a million performed globally each year.
Breast reduction surgery is the 8th most common plastic surgery procedure worldwide. Globally, nearly half a million breast reduction surgeries are performed each year.
Source: The Impact of Breast Reduction Surgery on Breastfeeding: Systematic Review of Observational Studies
Below, we discuss the breast reduction recovery timeline. Take this only as a general guide; you should ask your doctor about your specific recovery plan.
Key Takeaways
- Surgical incisions typically close within two to three weeks. Plan to take up to two to four weeks off work, depending on your recovery and your surgeon’s advice.
- By four to six weeks, many patients can return to work, resume daily activities, and drive once wearing a seatbelt is comfortable. Continue avoiding strenuous exercise, heavy lifting, and upper-body workouts until your surgeon clears you to resume them—often around six to eight weeks after surgery.
- Light activity may be permitted once you no longer need narcotics (pain medications) after surgery. Swelling may take up to four to six months to resolve fully, while scars can take up to 18 months to fade.
Breast Reduction Recovery: Right After Surgery
Post-surgery, you’ll find that your incisions are wrapped in dressings or bandages to keep them sterile. There may be a surgical drain (i.e., a thin tube that drains fluids from the wound) inserted under the skin, beginning at the site where the tissue was removed and exiting through a tiny incision separate from the primary surgical site. It’s normal to experience a light fluid drainage from your incision line.
Work: You cannot return to work yet.
Exercise: No exercise allowed.
Driving: You won’t be allowed to drive while taking narcotics (pain medications) .
Support Bra: Patients wear a medical-grade, post-surgical compression bra after surgery. It has a front closure for easy wearing and adjustment. It keeps the dressings in place, helps reduce swelling, and supports healing.
Breast Reduction Recovery: 1 Week Post-Surgery
At home, you remove the dressings after 5 days. You can shower after the dressings are removed. For any ooze or leakage, you may place gauze pads over the incision sites.
You must take a leave of absence from work. You cannot engage in physical activities at this time, and you need to sleep on your back. Any form of exercise after breast reduction is prohibited.
Expect your breasts to be swollen, feel tender, and look uneven and lumpy. They may continue to ache or feel sore. Your surgeon will send you home with prescription painkillers to take for the pain, as needed. Your surgeon may or may not prescribe a short course of oral antibiotics to take at home.
At the end of the second week of recovery (i.e., the fourteenth day post-op), you may have your first follow-up appointment.
During this appointment, the surgeon will check your incision. They may change the dressings with fresh ones, but they will let the medical tape (steri-strips) covering the incision remain.
Work: You cannot return to work yet if still taking pain medications.
Exercise: Exercise is not allowed.
Driving: You won’t be allowed to drive yet if still taking pain medications.
Support Bra: You must wear the specialized compression bra 24 hours a day.
Breast Reduction Recovery: 2-3 Weeks Post-Surgery
At the end of week 2, you’ll visit your surgeon for a checkup.
“During the second week after breast reduction surgery, rest and recovery remain your priority, so it’s best to file a two-week leave from work.”
You still cannot exercise or perform heavy physical activities that require your upper body to strain, but you may already be allowed to do some light physical activities at around 7 days post-op.
You may feel mild, intermittent pain, numbness, or a sudden sharp sensation in your breasts for up to two to four weeks after your breast reduction surgery. However, this should come and go quickly and likely not need pain medication.
At the end of the third week, a significant amount of the bruising and swelling will be gone, and you should now be able to see your new breast shape and size.
While you can start shopping for new bras in your reduced breast size in the third week after surgery, you should continue to wear a supportive, post-surgical compression bra 24/7.
At week three post-surgery, the medical tape covering your incisions may still be in place. Do not remove them; they’re designed to fall off on their own. However, you should be able to trim off any loose edges.
Work: Best to be on leave for two weeks.
Exercise: Exercise is not yet allowed, but you may be able to perform some light physical activities.
Driving: Wearing a seatbelt may continue to be uncomfortable.
Support Bra: You must continue wearing the specialized compression bra 24 hours a day.
Breast Reduction Recovery: 4-6 Weeks Post-Surgery
You should feel completely recovered one month to one and a half months after your surgery. By week four, you should be able to return to work and resume your activities of daily living without feeling any discomfort. You can resume driving as soon as you no longer feel any pain from wearing a seatbelt.
That said, you should continue to refrain from exercising and strenuous physical tasks (e.g., heavy lifting). Avoid stretching, running, high-intensity interval training, weight training, and other similar activities.
A little swelling may remain during this time. You should continue wearing a compression bra, although you may be allowed to transition to supportive, non-wire, front-closure sports bras for part of the day by week five or six.
Work: Resume work.
Exercise: Activities of daily living cause no discomfort, but exercise is not recommended.
Driving: Resume driving as soon as you can wear a seatbelt again.
Support Bra: You must wear the specialized compression bra 24 hours a day during week four, but you may start wearing a non-wire sports bra for part of the day by week five or six.
Breast Reduction Recovery: 6 to 8 Weeks Post-Surgery and Beyond
What little swelling remains should continue to go down. About four to six months (16 weeks) after surgery, majority of swelling should subside. At that point, you should be able to return to wearing non-compression bras. That said, it’s best to wear front-closure, supportive sports bras when exercising.
Speaking of exercise, you should be able to return to all your physical activities, including exercise, eight weeks after surgery. However, you should first get clearance from your doctor before actually resuming intense cardio and upper-body exercises.
Breast reduction scars healing takes the longest time, as incision scars take at least a year to fade. They can extend the breast reduction recovery timeline to up to 18 months after surgery.
Work: Resume work.
Exercise: Resume all physical activities, including exercise.
Driving: Driving causes no issues.
Scars: The scars gradually fade over a 12-18-month period.
Support Bra: A sports bra is recommended during strenuous exercise and activities, but a regular, non-wire, supportive bra should suffice for other times. You can start re-introducing underwire bras after 12 weeks or three months.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Breast Reduction Recovery Timeline
How long is breast reduction recovery?
Breast reduction recovery typically takes two to six weeks, but the full breast reduction recovery timeline is longer when the time it takes for surgical scars to fade is taken into account. While all swelling can subside fully in four months, breast reduction scars healing and fading can take up to 18 months.
When can I return to work after breast reduction?
Most people can return to work about two to four weeks after breast reduction surgery. Many surgeons recommend taking up to two weeks off from work to minimize any chances of straining the upper body and to enforce rest for optimal recovery.
When can I drive after breast reduction surgery?
You can usually drive again once wearing a seatbelt no longer causes pain. This can take several weeks after breast reduction surgery. You should also refrain from driving while on pain medication, which typically causes drowsiness. Because every patient heals differently, confirm with your surgeon when it is safe to get back behind the wheel.
When can I exercise after breast reduction?
Exercise after breast reduction is off limits in the first week. Light activities may resume, with your doctor’s clearance, two weeks after surgery, but strenuous exercises, stretching, and heavy lifting are to be avoided for at least six weeks after surgery. You should confirm with your doctor before resuming running and intense workouts.
How do breast reduction scars change over time?
For breast reduction scars, healing is gradual, and most scars take at least a year to fade. Incisions usually close in three weeks, but incision scars still look red or stark against the skin at this point. They then continue to lighten in the succeeding months until they fade fully, which can take up to 18 months for some.
Breast Reduction Surgery Recovery
Breast reduction surgery removes fat, tissue, and skin from breasts. Since it reshapes the breasts, it can help make women more confident about their bodies. This is why breast reduction can become part of some women’s mommy make-over plans.
It takes about six weeks to recover from breast reduction surgery. However, your breast reduction recovery timeline can be longer, as it may take four months for swelling to fully resolve and 18 months for surgical scars to fade.
Furthermore, healing can be faster or slower, depending on the person. This is why you should discuss your recovery plan with your doctor before you get breast reduction surgery.
Contact us at Dr. Chad Wu, MD, for questions about breast reduction, including what to expect during breast reduction recovery in Toronto. You can also talk to us about other breast cosmetic procedures, as we also offer breast augmentation and breast lift in our Toronto and Vaughan clinics.
