If you’re considering breast augmentation surgery, you probably have a lot of questions, including one of the major ones, “When can I wear a bra after my breast augmentation?” The answer... might surprise you. This may sound counterintuitive, but we do not want you putting on a bra right after your surgery for reasons we’ll explain.
If you’re like a lot of our patients, the idea of throwing out your A or B cups and replacing them with a beautiful selection of La Perla and Victoria’s Secret bras is exciting. While you’ll have your day at the lingerie store we promise, it’s better to wait until your breast implants have settled into their new shape.
How Long Do I Need to Wait?
We do not like our patients to wear an underwire bra for at least six weeks post-surgery. Only soft, loose sports bras are advised. Why? After surgery, we want the implants to move around and settle in the pocket. If you start wearing an underwire bra right after surgery, the implant will not be able to settle in fully and may look too high on the chest. It may also make the breasts feel less natural.
The Big Bra Deception
In general, when it comes to the volume of implants, plastic surgeons consider 200 CCs in volume to be about one cup size, but for the consumer, there’s no way to convert 200 CCs of volume to a cup size. The reason is because there is no international standard for bra cup sizes. Like jeans, bra sizes can vary between brands, so they are not consistent. Bra manufacturers have a big secret: they will mismark bras to make consumers feel better about their bra sizes when they go to the store to buy a new bra.
When your plastic surgeon gives you the green light to start wearing bras again, buy ones that are comfortable, regardless of what the numbers and sizes say on the bras themselves. Often, we’ll see women wear a 34D when they should be wearing a 36C. While those two sizes are very close, the fit and feel are different.
Our advice is to take your time trying on different bras until you find some that are very comfortable and fit your particular body well. Once your augmentation has healed, you can wear any type of bra as long as you’re comfortable – no bra is off-limits!
To get more information on breast augmentation surgery, contact our office to meet with Dr. Yuly Gorodisky, a board-certified plastic surgeon.