Introduction
After breast augmentation surgery, there is a risk for patients to develop an infection. Although it affects only a small percentage of patients, it is best to know how to properly care for the breasts after surgery. This will help to avoid infection and other complications.
The immediate discovery of an infection is very important, and there are signs of which the patients should be aware. Fever, redness, pain, and leakage of pus or fluid are common signs of an infection. If you suspect an infection, go immediately to the hospital and inform your surgeon.
To make sure that the condition doesn’t get worse, proper treatment of the infection should be administered. Some infections can be easily treated, while others can require more drastic measures, such as another surgery, for it to be resolved.
Care For Breasts After Surgery
Post-operative care instructions for your breasts will be provided by your surgeon. You have to make sure that you follow these instructions, so that the incision properly heals and you can enjoy your newly augmented breasts without any problems.
Typically, a breast augmentation surgery doesn’t require a long hospital stay. The patient can have the surgery in the morning, have a few hours rest in the hospital after surgery, then go home at the end of the day. When you get home, you will be responsible for taking care of yourself. Here some things you should remember:
– To avoid any infection, maintain the cleanliness of your breasts. The area surrounding the incision should be maintained at all times. Do not touch it especially if you haven’t disinfected your hands.
– Sometimes, a drainage tube may be placed in your breast to facilitate drainage of a possible seroma formation. It is important that you not to dislodge the tubes. It would be best to wear loose clothing to prevent the tubes from rubbing against your clothes.
– Swelling can occur. You can help ease and lessen it by applying ice packs to your breasts. You just have to be sure that your breasts don’t get wet in the process.
– Make sure that you keep the incision dry at all times. Be careful when you bathe yourself so that you don’t get the area wet. After the sutures have been removed, you can return to your regular shower routine.
– Avoid strenuous activities, especially those that require you to raise your hand above your head or stretch your arm far away. When your hand is placed above or at head level, you risk reopening the sutures. Avoid things like reaching something on the top shelf, washing your hair, or brushing your hair.
– For a year, you must avoid direct sun exposure on your breast incision. If you can’t avoid having your breast under the sun, make sure that you protect the area with sunblock.
– It is best to avoid underwire bras, as these may cause damage to the incision area.
Preventing Infection
In order to prevent infection after your breast augmentation surgery, you need to make sure that you don’t have an infection on the day of the operation. For a cold or urinary tract infection, the surgery can be postponed to a future date when the body is healed. Some may see this precaution as an inconvenience, but it is for the safety of the patient.
Another way to prevent the infection is to maintain the cleanliness of your breasts at all times. There is bacteria everywhere, and you must do all you can to prevent the bacteria from getting to your breast area, where it can incubate and grow.
It is crucial to prepare the body whether or not an infection happens. To make the body more capable of fighting infection and to prevent any infection from worsening, you can take in Vitamin C to boost your immune system. You should also eat nutritious foods.
Treatments For Infection
After the surgery, it is crucial to watch out for the signs of infection so that any infection can be treated immediately and further complications are prevented. The most common sign of an infection is fever. It is the body’s way of trying to kill the cause of the infection. Other signs could include pain and tenderness of the surgical area, redness of the skin, and some drainage leaking from the tubes, if you have tubes. You may also find pus coming out from the suture site.
When the infection is present, there is nothing else left to do but to treat it. Antibiotic treatment through the oral or intravenous route can be prescribed by the surgeon. Most infections are only superficial. That is why several days of antibiotic treatment would be enough to fight it off. If you suspect infection, do not take in antibiotics without a prescription. Instead, talk to your surgeon right away.
In rare cases, there might also be a need to do another surgery to remove the breast implants. This happens when the infection is deeper and when the breasts need to heal completely. Antibiotics would also be given to treat the infection. After the breast has completely healed, the breast implants could be replaced. This may take months, but it is important to make sure of a complete recovery from the infection and to prevent a second infection from occurring.
Conclusion
Proper care for the breast after the breast augmentation surgery is important to make sure that infection and other complications are prevented. There are guidelines given by surgeons and they should be strictly followed to facilitate proper healing.
There are different ways to prevent an infection, as well as to prepare for it. It is also important to know the different signs of having an infection, such as fever, tenderness and pain, swelling, and leakage of fluid or pus from the drainage tubes or the suture site.
The earlier you discover the infection, the earlier it can be treated with antibiotics. For most who develop superficial infections, full recovery is expected after several days. Those who have deeper infections may need the implants to be removed and after proper healing, the implants may be replaced.