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What happens after bilateral breast reduction surgery?

Immediately after bilateral breast reduction surgery, your breasts will be covered with dressings or bandages. You may have drainage tubes placed under your arms to keep excess fluid or blood from building up. You will be prescribed pain medications to keep you comfortable and antibiotics to prevent any infection. Bruising and swelling are common after bilateral breast reduction surgery, and your surgeon will ask you to wear a supportive bra without an underwire for several weeks after surgery. 

Other common instructions after breast reduction surgery include:

  • Avoid driving until you are no longer taking any prescription pain medication.
  • Avoid bathing until incisions are healed (around six to eight weeks). Showers will be allowed after about 48 hours.
  • Avoid using upper body muscles repeatedly or strenuously for six weeks.
  • Avoid jogging or high-intensity exercise for six weeks. 

You’ll follow up with your surgeon about a week after surgery to check your incisions and remove any drains that were placed.

What is bilateral breast reduction surgery?

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Will I look thinner after breast reduction?

* Savings estimate based on a study of more than 1 billion claims comparing self-pay (or cash pay) prices of a frequency-weighted market basket of procedures to insurer-negotiated rates for the same. Claims were collected between July 2017 and July 2019. R.Lawrence Van Horn, Arthur Laffer, Robert L.Metcalf. 2019. The Transformative Potential for Price Transparency in Healthcare: Benefits for Consumers and Providers. Health Management Policy and Innovation, Volume 4, Issue 3.

Sidecar Health offers and administers a variety of plans including ACA compliant and excepted benefit plans. Coverage and plan options may vary or may not be available in all states.

Your actual costs may be higher or lower than these cost estimates. Check with your provider and health plan details to confirm the costs that you may be charged for a service or procedure.You are responsible for costs that are not covered and for getting any pre-authorizations or referrals required by your health plan. Neither payments nor benefits are guaranteed. Provider data, including price data, provided in part by Turquoise Health.

The site is not a substitute for medical or healthcare advice and does not serve as a recommendation for a particular provider or type of medical or healthcare.