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Breast Lift Where your surgery will be performed Your breast lift may performed in a hospital, an outpatient surgery center, or a surgeon's office-based facility. It's usually done on an outpatient basis, for cost containment and convenience. If you're admitted to the hospital as an inpatient, you can expect to stay one or two days. Types of Anesthesia Breast lifts are usually performed under general anesthesia, which means you'll sleep through the operation. In selected patients--particularly when a smaller incision is being made--the surgeon may use local anesthesia, combined with a sedative to make you drowsy. You'll be awake but relaxed, and feel minimal discomfort. After your Surgery After surgery, you'll wear an elastic bandage or a surgical bra over gauze dressings. Your breasts will be bruised, swollen, and uncomfortable for a day or two, but the pain shouldn't be severe. Any discomfort you do feel can be relieved with medications prescribed by your surgeon. Within a few days, the bandages or surgical bra will be replaced by a soft support bra. You'll need to wear this bra around the clock for three or four weeks, over a layer of gauze. The stitches will be removed after a week or two. If your breast skin is very dry following surgery, you can apply a moisturizer several times a day. Be careful not to tug at your skin in the process, and keep the moisturizer away from the suture areas. You can expect some loss of feeling in your nipples and breast skin, caused by the swelling after surgery. This numbness usually fades as the swelling subsides over the next six weeks or so. In some patients, however, it may last a year or more, and occasionally it may be permanent. |
