A few weeks ago, a patient of mine came into the office for her preop visit. She was asking me about what to expect after surgery, particularly in terms of size and shape for her breasts. We discussed the initial result, the swelling that normally occurs, and the “settling” that happens over time. Then she asked me about the fluffing fairy that makes your breasts grow after surgery – and I was stumped.
After a little investigation, I discovered what this postoperative “fluff” was all about. There was a theory circulating that after breast surgery, the breasts will slowly round out and get larger, until they settle into their final size. While I do agree that things evolve- and sometimes significantly- over the weeks and months after a procedure, I could not see how that equated into the breasts becoming larger.
The “settling” that I have observed over decades of being a breast surgery expert equates more to shape changes than any significant size alteration. Depending on your initial result, the breasts may start very high (this is what I do) so that when gravity pulls them down, they can land where you want them to. In the first few days, swelling can be mild or significant, leading to a “bubble” look that is also temporary. And there is also the postop bra, and how it fits, which can substantially change the overall shape, for better or worse.
The overall effect of this transition does usually lead to a more pleasing teardrop shape in the end, and in this manner, the bottom is rounded out and less compact; but to equate this with breast tissue spontaneously growing is inaccurate to say the least. If anything, as the swelling goes down, the breasts become smaller than where they started, walking out of the surgical facility.
It always strikes me as interesting when a new surgical term is coined. As with most jokes, each one holds a kernel of truth, even if that truth becomes lost in the trend. And while it is important to note the transitions that come after breast surgery – in order to prepare and manage expectations – it is also important not to imagine things as they are not. The eventual shape of most breasts is usually more pleasing than the initial appearance; but in the end, the idea that a fairy will come to make it gorgeous if it didn’t start that way is the actual fluff.
