Is your friend having breast surgery? Here’s how to be a good “boobie buddy.”
Before their procedures, I spend a lot of time with my Richmond plastic surgery patients going over what to expect during recovery, including how much help they will need from others. Every patient needs at least one trusted friend or family member to drive them to and from surgery and keep an eye on them for the first 24 hours or so.
If you’ve been “hired” for the caretaker role of a breast surgery patient and want some real-life perspective on what you might be in for, I recommend the following video from Jenny Eden of Eden Knows Implants. She recounts her recent experience caring for a friend after breast lift surgery and offers several tips for what a “boobie buddy” can do to keep a friend comfortable and safe. Many cosmetic breast surgery procedures have similar post-op rules and recovery tips, so if your friend is having breast reduction or breast augmentation, it’s also worth watching.
Here are some of my favorite tips from Eden’s video—including a few which you likely will not have thought of:
If you’re picking up your friend after surgery, bring a bowl or other container along in the car, just in case they are nauseous post-procedure.
Make sure your friend has extra pillows ready in their bed so you can make sure they can rest comfortably and are appropriately bolstered. This is because breast surgery patients should rest with their torso propped up at a ~45 degree angle, and can’t sleep on their side or stomach, during the initial recovery period.
Be ready to guard their sleep given rest is extremely important after surgery.
When bringing them water, be sure to include a straw so they won’t have to lift their upper arms to take a drink. (A lidded plastic container with a straw is ideal.)
Need more than the “Cliff notes” version of breast surgery recovery? Talk to a board certified plastic surgeon.
If you or a loved one is considering a breast lift or any other plastic surgery procedure, it’s important to have a thorough understanding of what’s required to recover optimally. While the internet offers some basic tips for helping a friend recovering from breast surgery, an experienced, board certified plastic surgeon is your best resource to learn how much downtime will be needed, what activities are off-limits and for how long, and more. The surgeon’s office should also supply detailed instructions on post-op care well before the actual day of surgery so you can both prepare ahead.
If you are in the Richmond area and considering breast surgery, I invite you to contact my office to schedule a consultation. I’ll be happy to help you understand your options and welcome you to bring a friend along to your consultation and pre-op appointments, whether it simply helps you feel more comfortable or they have post-op care questions.