How to Know When to Call the Doctor after Breast Implant Surgery

After you have breast implant surgery, there may be times that you need to contact your doctor. The doctor is your partner in your breast implant surgery, and is there to help you if you have questions. Your health and safety is their number one concern. Below is a list of things to look for to know when to call the doctor after breast implant surgery.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Check your temperature and contact your doctor is you have a fever over 101º F. This usually signals that there is an infection that needs to be taken care of.

2. See if you notice any a large amount of discharge or fluid leaking from your incision. Discharge could signal infection, while fluid could mean that your implant is leaking, and needs to be taken out or replaced.

3. Notice if pain medication is not helping. Do you have uncontrollable pain? Your doctor could prescribe you stronger pain medication or give you suggestions to help to relieve the pain. Uncontrollable pain can also be a sign that something is wrong, and you should discuss it with your doctor.

4. Watch for discoloration that is not related to bruising. You will have bruising on your breasts for a while; you want to watch for blackening or extreme redness of the skin. A large bruise that gets more painful to the touch could also be a hematoma and needs medical attention.

5. Feel for any unusual lumps or if your implant feels strange. This could mean that the breast implant has shifted or slid out of place, and needs to be put back surgically.

6. Feel for unusual swelling in your arm, fingers or near the incision site. Some swelling is normal, but contact your doctor is it seems severe. Severe swelling could be a hematoma (a pool of blood near the surgery site), a seroma (a collection of body fluids near the site), or an infection.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not hesitate to call your doctor. If you are ever in doubt, call him. It’s better to be safe than to put off calling and risk a more severe complication.
• Keep in mind that your breast will look a little odd until the bruising and swelling go down. Everything that you are looking for are symptoms that are beyond normal swelling and bruising.
• Call your doctor and go to the hospital immediately if you lose consciousness or are experiencing a fever of 104º F or higher. These could be signs of a much more complicated condition.

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