A woman interested in breastenhancement submitted the following question:
How painful can Breast Lift with Implant be?

I’m 37 years old. After having baby, I have ended up with loss of volume and loose skin on my breast and flat look. I’m disappointed with my looks and am considering Breast Implant with Breast Lift.

Thought of pain and complication scares me to hell. How painful can the procedure be? The look of ugly scars and capsular contracture and other complications makes me uncomfortable.

Please help me in deciding and let me know if there is a way or procedure with less pain or quick recovery for Breast Augmentation. How is pain or discomfort minimized to little or no pain at all by painkillers?
Thanks.

Answer:
Generally speaking, operations that involve the muscles, bones or joints tend to be more painful operations that involve only the soft tissues. The soft tissues are usually not involved with necessary movement and are not weight bearing. A breast lift traditionally does not involve bones, joints or muscles and thus tends to be relatively well tolerated. This is especially true if a good support bra is worn to prevent movement of the breasts after surgery.

A breast lift and a breast augmentation are really two different operations and have different levels of pain associated with them. Of the two procedures a breast lift is often the less painful especially when the breast augmentation is done by placing the implants under the chest wall muscle (pectoralis major). Nevertheless, it is sometimes better to place the implants underneath the muscle in order to achieve the best cosmetic result.

The best way to minimize pain and discomfort after either a breast augmentation and/or breast lift is to follow your surgeon’s advice. He or she has a lot of experience in managing postoperative pain. Take pain medications as needed and do not wait too long to take the medication. Sometimes instead of taking two pills every four hours better relief can be achieved by taking one pill every two hours. Support the breasts with an appropriate bra to minimize movement (often a good sports bra will suffice). And use ice packs as much as possible during at least the first four days. Ice packs will minimize swelling and this in turn will make it more comfortable. If the implants are placed underneath the muscle, discuss with your surgeon the option of taking a muscle relaxing medication. This can decrease muscle spasm that can occur during the first week from the muscle being stretched over the implant.

Finally realize that the pain is temporary – usually only a few days. These operations are in general much less painful than most surgeries. I’ve performed this procedure thousands of times and no woman has ever had intolerable pain and no one has ever regretted the procedure because of the recovery. It is a short-term recovery for a lifelong improvement in appearance.

Ultraviolet radiation has two main components which are important to developing a tan and developing skin cancer, premature aging of the skin, and the breakdown of the supporting elements of the skin. These two components are UVA and UVB.

In very simple terms UVB is responsible for the development of tanned skin and sunburns. UVB stimulates cells within the skin called melanocytes that then produce a substance called melanin. Melanin has a dark pigmentation giving the skin the appearance of a tan. Melanin can also cause unevenness in skin color, which may be especially noticeable in the face. This unevenness of facial skin color is often referred to as melasma. Too much UVB and skin damage occurs leading to a sunburn. UVB exposure may also lead to the development of squamous cell skin cancer and is a major source of skin cell DNA damage.

Sunburns can be avoided and melasma can be improved by using a sunscreen with a high SPF (sun protection factor) rating. Generally a sunscreen with a SPF rating of 20 or higher is adequate to protect the skin from burning. (It must be reapplied regularly when sweating and/or swimming) Be aware, however, that the SPF rating applies only to the ability of the sunscreen to block UVB. It has no relationship to the ability of the sunscreen to block UVA.

In simple terms, UVA is the largest portion of UV radiation that reaches the earth and may play a role in immunosupression and the development of melanomas Melanomas are deadly skin cancers which even when relatively small can spread (commonly to the lymph nodes and then to the brain) and lead to incurable disease and death. UVA can pass through glass and penetrates deep into the skin leading to skin wrinkling and aging. SPF ratings of sunscreens give no indication of how well they protect from UVA radiation. It is always important to read the fine print of the sunscreen to see if UVA protection is also given. Ingredients such as zinc oxide and avobenzone offer excellent UVA protection.

UV radiation also causes a breakdown in the collagen and elastin of the skin. This leads to premature aging of the skin, an acceleration of wrinkle development and loss of skin elasticity and resiliency. Unfortunately, the damage caused by UV radiation is not simply reversed by stopping or decreasing UV exposure. Much of the damage can be permanent and may not show up for several years. Those of us who grew up in the 60’s are now seeing and realizing the damage that all that sun exposure has done to the skin.

Sunscreens are considered “water resistant” if they retain their SPF protection after two 20 minute periods of water immersion. If a sunscreen retains its SPF protection after four 20 minute periods of water immersion they may be classified as “very water resistant”.

Sunless tans are the solution for the desire for color without the risk of skin damage. The spray on or rub-on tanning formulations offer the ability to have a brown color without damaging the skin. Today’s formulations are much improved over those a decade ago and the appearance of orange stripes is a thing of the past. You must, however, be aware that a sunless tan also offers NO protection from UV radiation. Wear a sunscreen over the sunless tan to protect the skin.