What kind of bra should I wear after breast reduction surgery?

Following a breast reduction, women should wear compressive, yet breathable bras. Plastic and reconstructive surgeon and Sharecare Advisory Board member Stuart Linder, MD explains in this video.

Transcript

00:00

Women should wear very, very specific bra after breast reduction surgery. The components of the bra are very, very typical,

00:07

including compression. And compression is very important to reduce swelling and edema. Another component is breathability.

00:15

We don't want the patient to retain sweat, which could lead to infections of the incision, cellulitis, and things like that.

00:22

So we want to compress the bra, but we also want breathability. I have thought about all the different bras through the years.

00:28

And there really hasn't been a lot of perfect bras. So we started to look into that, manufacturing bras that

00:35

are more useful for patients who have had implants, lifts, reductions, and breast cancer reconstruction. Other components of that bra should

00:41

include bands that are able to be adjustable on the sides, which are able to be increased or decreased

00:48

depending upon how much swelling there is. In the immediate perioperative period, and then the swelling is reduced over the next 2 to 3 weeks,

00:56

which you can then bring it in a little bit, and that can help with the swelling and continue to reduce edema. So the bras need to be soft, breathable,

01:06

have great compression. Double clip zip bras are extremely useful because they're easy to put on,

01:13

but they also allow compression along the parasternal region. That is the midsection here where there's often swelling