Flying After Breast Augmentation: When Is It Safe to Travel?

Flying after breast augmentation is usually straightforward, but the timing matters and the reason has little to do with your implants.

The timeline

• Short-haul flights. Generally acceptable from around 10 days.

• Long-haul flights. Usually left until around four weeks.

These are guides. The final decision should be made at your postoperative review, because it depends on how you have healed rather than on the calendar alone.

Why the wait

The concern is venous thromboembolism, meaning clots forming in the deep veins of the leg which can travel to the lungs. Surgery is an independent risk factor. So is prolonged immobility in a cramped seat with reduced cabin humidity. Stacking the two together in the early postoperative period raises risk more than either does alone.

This is why the long-haul threshold is considerably later than the short-haul one. It is duration of immobility that matters, not distance as such.

What to do on the flight

• Wear graduated compression stockings. Put them on before you travel, not once you are seated.

• Drink water regularly and skip the alcohol. Cabin air is dry and alcohol compounds dehydration.

• Walk the cabin every hour or two. Where you cannot, do ankle pumps and calf raises in your seat.

• Wear your support garment. Comfort during turbulence and on take-off and landing is noticeably better with it than without.

• Book an aisle seat. You will move more if it is easy to.

Two common worries

Cabin pressure does not affect implants. Modern cohesive gel implants are not gas-filled and do not expand or contract at altitude. They will not set off airport security scanners either, though they may be visible on body imaging.

Declare your surgery to your travel insurer. Many standard policies exclude complications arising from recent elective surgery. A short call before you travel is worth making.

If you are travelling for surgery

Patients travelling from Ireland or further afield should plan to remain in London long enough for the first postoperative review before flying home. Arranging surgery and a return flight too close together removes the flexibility to manage anything unexpected.

Related reading: returning to exercise and how to sleep after surgery.

Risks

Breast augmentation is surgery and carries risks including bleeding, infection, capsular contracture, altered nipple sensation, implant rupture, asymmetry and the possibility of revision surgery. These are discussed in full at consultation as part of the consent process.

Mr Ali Arnaout, MBChB, PGDip, AFHEA, FRCS(Plast), MBA — Consultant Plastic, Oncoplastic and Cosmetic Surgeon. GMC 7274609. iQonic Aesthetics, 15 Harley Street, London, and Dublin.