Breast Implant Massage Technique After Augmentation

Proper implant displacement exercises are a critical part of your recovery after breast augmentation surgery. Dr. Lawton walks you through the correct technique to help your implants settle into the ideal position and maintain long-term results.

Watch: How to Perform Implant Displacement Exercises

Step-by-Step Implant Massage Instructions

Follow these instructions carefully. Proper technique ensures the implant moves correctly — improper technique will not produce results.

When to Start

Implant displacement exercises typically begin at one week following breast augmentation surgery. Always follow your surgeon’s specific instructions regarding timing.

Understanding the Goal: Displacement, Not Massage

It is important to understand that this technique is not traditional massage. The goal is implant displacement — moving the implant into the correct space, particularly upward, while maintaining firmness against the chest wall.

How to Perform the Technique

1. Ignore the breast tissue. Place your hands so that you are gripping the implant itself, not the surrounding breast tissue.
2. Stabilize the implant against the chest wall. Using a claw-like grip with your fingertips, press the implant firmly against the chest wall. You should be able to feel the implant. Do not lose control of it.
3. Push upward. While maintaining pressure against the chest wall, push the implant upward. Do not release pressure during this movement.
4. Return to starting position. Without letting go of the pressure, bring the implant back down to the starting position.
5. For additional fullness. If you want to increase fullness in a specific direction, you can use both hands simultaneously. The standard movement is up and down. You can also displace inward for additional medial fullness.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Do not apply pressure to the breast tissue. Your hands should be on the implant, not the breast tissue itself.
• Do not use a flat-palm push. This technique does nothing. You must claw your hands and grip the implant.
• Do not push the implant outward laterally. Pushing the implant outward can dissect the pocket and cause the implant to fall to the chest wall.
• Do not lose your grip. Once you have the implant stabilized, maintain control throughout the entire movement.

Video Transcript

So initially after breast augmentation, typically at a week, we’re massaging the implant — but the massage isn’t really massage, it’s displacement. The implant needs to be able to move up into this space in particular, and if we’re trying to increase the volume down here, you grab a hold of the implant. So you ignore the breast tissue, grab the implant, and push it against the chest wall so it’s stable. So you never lose that. If you just do this, it doesn’t do anything. So you grab the implant, make sure it’s stable, and then push up — and then without letting go of the pressure, pass it back to yourself. And then if you’re trying to get this more full, you can do it with both hands. Notice that there’s no pressure on the breast tissue itself. Breast tissue is here and I’ve got the implant and I’m pushing at the chest wall and then down. So standard is up and down like this, and then additionally if we want to go in this direction, you can hold it that way. Typically you don’t want to push it out this way because it’ll dissect it and the implant will fall to the chest wall — but it’s a very simple move and you’re using your fingertips. So sometimes I see people do this — that doesn’t do anything. You need to claw your hands, grab a hold of the implant, you can feel the implant, and then don’t lose control over it. So that’s a simple implant massage.