Most women experience hormonal changes for up to 6 months after they have finished nursing. This allows their breasts to return to a natural state, which may be very different from their size and shape before pregnancy and nursing. I require my patients to wait 6 months after nursing completely.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Feel free to consult with your local board-certified plastic surgeon at any time.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

You should see the surgeon at consultation when you cannot express milk anymore out of the nipples and are ready for the surgery.

Good luck!

Published on Jul 11, 2012

We usually tell our patients to wait one month from cessation of nursing to proceed with breast augmentation.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

It is very common to hear arbitrary times like '3 months', but that's not based on anything other than dogma. What's really important is that your breasts are stable in size, i.e. they are no longer shrinking. The concept that your breasts 'dry up' is also nonsense, and in reality women can have old milk in their ducts for the rest of their lives, forming these lakes of milk within the breast tissue. That is why it is so important to place the implant through an inframammary incision, to avoid milk ducts and the bacteria in them that cause capsular contracture, regardless of whether or not you've given birth or breast fed. Once your breast size is stable, it is time for surgery!

Published on Jul 11, 2012

I prefer to see patients once they feel like their breasts are no longer changing after they stop breastfeeding. The amount of time varies from one person to the next. Given your situation, your breasts may have stopped changing in a month or so. I have no problem consulting with patients anytime after they have stopped breastfeeding, but it is difficult to come up with an accurate surgical plan until their breasts have stopped changing. I will usually have my patients wait until 3 months after they stopped breastfeeding before I will perform the actually surgery. However, this does not preclude us form discussing the potential options for surgery before then.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

I usually suggest that nursing mothers wait several months after breastfeeding to do any type of breast surgery. The reason for this is that the breasts continue to shrink in size for about that length of time. If the patient totally understands this, then it could be done earlier and adjust for eventual shrinkage.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter. You are welcome to schedule a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon at any time. However, you must have discontinued breastfeeding for at least three months prior to the operation. Your plastic surgeon can better evaluate you during your consultation.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

I think you can go ahead and consult now that your daughter is weaned.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Sounds like your breasts dried up very quickly, in which case you don't need to wait. I would see a board-certified plastic surgeon anytime at this point and proceed with surgery unless your PS thinks otherwise after examining you.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Thank you for your question. For the purposes of consultation only, you do not need to wait any specific amount of time before scheduling a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss your options. Before any procedure is to be performed it is recommended that patients wait a minimum of 3 months from the time they stopped breastfeeding. We recommend waiting at least this 3 month period because it is important for the breasts to be allowed to recover from the hormone fluctuations and cessation of breastfeeding and breast milk production. Pregnancy and breastfeeding causes the breasts to engorge and after delivering and the cessation of breastfeeding the breasts will atrophy and become smaller than their engorged state. Waiting at least 3 months from the time that breastfeeding has ceased is important as it allows us to address the non-pregnancy affected state of your breasts. I hope you find this helpful.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

If you are considering breast enhancement surgery, I would definitely recommend waiting until you are completely finished lactating. Consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss your options. However, 3-6 months is usually a good amount of time after breastfeeding to have breast surgery. Additional advice would be to wait on you having surgery until you are done having children. Good luck!

Published on Jul 11, 2012

We suggest coming in for a consult 3 months after you finish breastfeeding. In addition, many patients find it helpful to be close to their goal weight prior to their consult and surgery.

Published on Jul 11, 2012