Breast lift recovery, week by week

The first few days

You'll be sore and tight across the chest, and the painkillers you're given should cover it. Drain tubes, if you have them, usually come out within a few days. Sleep on your back, propped up, and keep what you need within reach so you're not stretching.

Week one and two

Swelling and bruising are at their worst and settle over about two weeks. The support bra stays on day and night, off only to wash. Stitches come out, or dissolving ones start to go, at about 10 days to two weeks. Walk around the house every few hours to keep the blood moving.

Weeks three to six

Most people are back at work by now. Avoid lifting, straining and stretching your arms above your head. No strenuous exercise or swimming for about a month. Drive once wearing a seatbelt no longer hurts, which for most people is two to three weeks; check with your insurer too.

Three months and beyond

The breasts settle lower and rounder as the swelling goes. The scars are still pink and slowly fade over the next year or two. Numbness in the nipples and lower breast often lasts about six weeks and can take longer.

Flying and travel

The UK's NHS advises not flying for five to seven days after breast surgery, because flying and surgery both raise the risk of a clot. On any trip of three hours or more, the HSE advises loose clothes, getting up to walk, compression stockings and calf exercises.

Ring the clinic if

• one breast becomes much more swollen, tight or painful than the other
• a wound opens, smells or leaks pus
• you have a temperature or feel unwell
• a calf is painful, swollen or warm, or you're short of breath (go to an emergency department for breathlessness)

If you have small children

Lifting a child is heavy lifting. Plan for someone else to do the lifting for at least the first three to four weeks, and longer if implants or a tummy tuck are part of it.

Questions people ask

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