Breast Implant Drop & Fluff: How Will They Settle?

Completed breast augmentation? Check. Made all post-surgery appointments? Check. Finished recovery? Check. Once you’ve made it through the recovery process, it’s easy to assume that your new breasts are in their final position. However, recovery following breast augmentation can often be a month’s long process thanks to the condition known as drop and fluff. While the name may sound innocuous, understanding this process and its role in the overall recovery timeline has helped many augmentation patients better prepare for treatment.

What Exactly is the Drop and Fluff?

Like all other surgical procedures, breast augmentation is a process from which the body continues to heal months after surgery. Whereas other cosmetic procedures usually heal and that’s the end of it, the body must adjust to accommodate inserted implants following breast augmentation. Immediately following surgery, the muscles around the implant and skin tissue experience significant swelling. This results in larger looking breasts that appear to sit high up on the chest and look rounder rather than teardrop shaped. Over the course of several months, inflammation decreases while the muscles and skin gradually adjust to the new additions through a process surgeons and patients alike refer to as the “drop and fluff.”

While the name is amusing, this condition is common among breast implant patients. Usually occurring in the first few months after surgery, drop and fluff starts when the breast skin and muscles start to stretch and relax to accommodate the new implants. No matter how the implants are placed, or the types of implants used, they all begin to slowly shift down the chest and point outward. As the implants gradually move into their final position, they naturally begin to fill out the bottom portion of the breast or “settle” into the pocket they’ve created. Known as the “fluff” phase of implant recovery, this second step is what provides the natural-looking teardrop shape rather than a high and tight appearance common in the first weeks following surgery.

Ultimately, the drop and fluff process is what provides patients with a natural-looking augmentation.

What to Expect During Drop and Fluff

The first thing patients should know about this recovery step is that every patient heals from surgery in their own way. While some face shorter recovery time and a longer period of descent, other individuals can spend months healing from the initial surgery and several more months waiting for their breasts to achieve their final position. Every patient’s journey is unique and therefore should be carefully planned with each individual’s specific concerns in mind.

Similarly, everyone’s unique recovery timeline also determines when their breasts will start their journey south. Gravity, surgery and how well your body heals also determine when the breasts completely drop and fluff. As such, it is important for patients to stay patient in the weeks and months following surgery. On average, it can take up to three months for the breasts to complete the entire recovery plus drop and fluff process.

How to Help Your Breasts Settle

During each follow-up appointment with our Beverly Hills surgeons, our team will examine and check your recovery to ensure the implants are on their way to correctly settling into their final position. Dr. David Kim may also recommend at home solutions to help encourage proper settling. This can include breast bands or compression bras and massaging techniques.

Schedule Your Consultation Today!

At BHPS, our surgical team is your resource for understanding the immediate and long-term impacts of plastic surgery. To learn more about comprehensive cosmetic care, call 310-746-5475 today and schedule your consultation with our Beverly Hills surgeons!