From time to time I get this request, especially from professional women or women who work in an office environment. Breast augmentation, while certainly not fully visible in normal public life, can be noticed after surgery. Immediately after surgery, you can also be quite swollen, and even if you feel ready to work, the total size of your breasts 1 week after surgery will be greater than 4 or 12 weeks after the operation. Here are some helpful tips to minimize your breast augmentation surgery and reduce any potential gossip behind your back.

The most important long-term variable for the outcome of your breast augmentation surgery is choosing the right volume for you. In general, a “C” cup is average. A woman with a C-cup breast, wearing an unpadded bra and a slim undershirt, will likely be considered average cup size and proportional to her height, weight, rib cage, and hips. If you want to be much larger than your average cup size, like a DD or larger, I don’t think any compression bra or garment minimizes your cup size enough to make it less noticeable in an office or professional setting.

Wearing progressively larger padded bras before surgery helps camouflage the fact that you will soon be undergoing breast augmentation. Try to allow that long before your actual surgery to do this, and change your padding to a larger size week by week.

Wearing bulky clothing, such as a sweater or formal jacket, also helps with the illusion of more volume in the breasts. Along with a padded bra, this should also confuse your professional colleagues.

Immediately after surgery, follow your plastic surgeon’s instructions for reducing swelling, such as using ice, wearing a post-surgical compression bra, lifting your head, and sleeping upright to reduce swelling and walking occasionally. These activities and several others help reduce swelling in the immediate postoperative period.

When you return to work, your surgical or sports bra will be worn to prevent the breast implants from moving significantly and to help reduce swelling quickly. Check with your plastic surgeon when you can wear a sports bra, but a sports bra worn after surgery will help reduce swelling.