Transgender Breast Augmentation

While you’ve undoubtedly taken many steps to get here, your first surgical step towards your transgender breast augmentation surgery should be to meet with a board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss your goals and expectations for this critical stage in your transition journey. You may be a good candidate for a transgender breast augmentation if you are in good physical health and have a clear idea of how you’d like your breasts to look post-procedure. Additionally, since you’re likely receiving different types of therapy as a natural part of your transition process, it’s recommended that you also meet the following criteria before your transgender breast augmentation:

• Completed hormonal therapy
• Attended at least three months of professional counseling
• Received support from a licensed health professional (i.e., a letter of recommendation that our staff can verify)
• Discontinued any medication that could pose adverse side effects during surgery (i.e., medications that cause excessive bleeding, such as aspirin and heparin)

Good plastic surgery prep also includes thinking about and planning your recovery. After transgender breast augmentation surgery, patients’ breasts will be sore and experience some swelling and bruising for at least two weeks. After that, while everyone is different, you’ll likely experience at least three days of solid downtime and relative downtime for at least another two weeks. You can also expect pain, swelling, and sensitivity for a few weeks. Still, it should subside enough within the first few days to allow you to return to most of your activities without significant discomfort. 

Patients should also expect to be swollen and sore for the first few days after transgender breast augmentation, and it’s helpful to keep in mind that this is not their final look; it takes six weeks for implants to “drop and fluff.” Detailed post-operative instructions will be provided to make a recovery smooth and comfortable, and Dr. Barrett will prescribe oral medication to manage pain and antibiotics to prevent infection. Additionally, he also encourages using ibuprofen and arnica after surgery to provide the best swelling reduction and pain relief. Most patients are pleased to find that this stage of recovery typically only lasts a few days, and they begin to feel better much faster than they expect, typically within 3 days.

If their job is not overly strenuous, many transgender patients return to work within the week. Pain, swelling, and sensitivity will linger for a few weeks but subside enough to allow a return to most activities without significant discomfort. However, rigorous exercise should be restricted for at least two weeks to give the breasts ample time to heal. Patients are encouraged to walk immediately after surgery and then 3 times daily to prevent blood clots and to improve circulation. Dr. Barrett will monitor progress at follow-up appointments and advise when workouts or other strenuous activities can resume.

Patients typically return at one week, two weeks, three weeks, six weeks, three months, and six months for post-operative visits. Patients may resume cardio or lower body activity that does not involve bouncing up and down or the upper body at two weeks. At four weeks, they can do light jogging, and at six weeks, they can resume upper body activity and heavy lifting (greater than eight pounds).

While scars will begin to fade within a couple of months, it can take up to a year before their final effect is seen. Dr. Barrett starts all his patients on a 12-week silicone scar gel program. It is essential to avoid direct sun exposure in the area since UV rays can make scars more prominent. With proper care and patience, most will likely find your scars are not very noticeable once healing is complete.

Dr. Daniel Barrett reviewed the information about transgender breast augmentation. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us using our contact form below.