After your surgery, the following guidelines may be helpful. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Dr. Lynch at 609-448-6200.
- Following surgery you will be in a surgical bra and wrapped in an ACE bandage dressing to maintain compression. This will minimize the risk of a seroma developing, and postoperative infection. You may remove the bra and ACE bandage daily for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening to relieve any garment pressure on your skin
- Please notify the office if you experience fever, chills, redness or unusual swelling after your surgery.
- Please finish taking all of your antibiotics as prescribed. Often, eating yogurt may help to alleviate some of the side effects of antibiotics. If you are prescribed narcotics for pain management, it is important to stay well hydrated, and increase fruits and vegetables in your diet to minimize the constipating side effects of the narcotic. It may be necessary to take a stool softener (Colace) while taking narcotics.
- Please avoid strenuous upper arm/chest muscle exercises for 6 weeks after surgery. Please limit lifting to nothing greater than 10 lbs.
- You may shower on the 3rd day after your surgery. Do not remove the clear dressing and BioPatch around the drain sites. Wear a cotton belt in the shower to pin the drains around your waist while you are naked.
- After 14 days you may remove the Surgical Bra and wear a “sports” type bra that will provide support and maintain the placement of the tissue expander. Please do not wear an underwire bra. Please wear a “sports” bra for 24 hours a day for 21 days. You may remove the bra to shower.
- After 21 days please wear a bra for a minimum 12 hours a day to maintain the shape and position of the implants.
- DO NOT SMOKE
- You will receive your implant information card after surgery. Please keep this card available. It is important to inform other health care providers ( Dentists, Radiologists, etc.) that you have a breast tissue expander in place. It may be necessary to consider prophylactic antibiotics prior to dental work or other invasive procedures. The tissue expander has a port for expansion that includes a metal alloy. THE TISSUE EXPANDER IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH MRI.
