Do you have to sleep on your back after the surgery?

Do you have to sleep on your back after the surgery?

The information here is the advice I give my friends regarding what to expect after their breast augmentation surgery and what to do. Every doctor has their own protocol about postoperative care and this may be different from what your doctor has advised. It is important that you follow the instructions given by your surgeon to the hilt.

It is a myth that after your surgery, you may not be able to sleep on your stomach or side and will have to sleep on your back. A considerable number of my patients believe it and remain worried that they may not be able to get much sleep.

This worry is not unfound; the Better Sleep Council suggests that less than 15 percent prefer sleeping on their backs.

Yes, this is a myth. You do not have to sleep on your back post your breast surgery. You do not have to continue waking up to ensure you have not turned over. You can surely sleep any way you wish to.

There is no fear of the implants popping if you sleep on them. They can withstand considerable weight and are very durable. Allergen, one of the manufacturers of breast implants tests them by exerting a force of 55 pounds repeatedly on them, as much as 6.5 million times! This amount of force means you sleeping on your stomach for more than 17,000 years.

Similar to your contact lenses never slipping behind your eyes, your implants cannot move into your body. During the surgery, the breast implants are placed in a pocket behind your pectoral muscle. Bound by strong muscles and tissue, these implants are carefully positioned and cannot go anywhere. Any normal movement in this pocket does not interfere with the healing process.

A standard surgeon advice is to wear a sports bra for the first 7 days after the surgery. Most patients think that the purpose is to ensure the implants stay in their place. That is untrue, as stated above, the breast implants are not going anywhere.

The purpose of the sports bra is to provide the bottom of your breasts and the incision some support against gravity when you are sitting, standing or walking through the day. The bra ensures the pressure on the incision is minimum adding to your comfort. The incision is in the crease under your breast and this does not pop open either. There are 3 layers of stitches that are dissolvable providing strength to it for months while it completely heals.

The only reason may be comfort, most patients tell me they are a hundred percent comfortable sleeping on their stomachs in about 3 weeks time. They are comfortable sleeping on their sides much sooner than that.