Answers
"I am considering getting breast implants, but I am in the military and am concerned about not being able to do physical activity for a long period of time. How long would I really have to wait after surgery to begin running again and to be able to do pushups?"
— Answered by Stephen A. Chidyllo, MD
Eatontown, NJ
This is one of the most frequently asked questions of my patients concerning breast implants. I do not have a great deal of military personnel in my practice, but I do have a many weight-lifting females.
My recommendations are as follows. If the breast implants are placed above the muscle then I tell my patients that they can resume all exercise, including weight-lifting and sports, in 6-8 weeks after the surgery. This is assuming that there are no complications postoperatively.
If the breast implants were placed under the muscle, which I do in about 95% of the cases, then my instructions are as follows: no exercise and no weight-lifting for the first two weeks. You can start walking either outside or on the treadmill after two weeks. You can resume lower body training and sit-ups after one month. You can start jogging and light upper body weights after two months and resume all unrestricted weight-lifting, exercise and sports after three months. Some other physicians may consider this postoperative plan conservative and cautious; however, I have seen postoperative bleeding even after 3-4 weeks in patients who start exercising too early.
