Breast Surgery

Breast implants

Implants will not usually affect breastfeeding. If your breasts developed normally during puberty, you should have no trouble with breastfeeding. The size of the original breast tissue is not important for breastfeeding, it is the shape and the way the breasts developed during puberty. Before you had implants, if your breasts had a wide space between them, were significantly different in size and shape, had only a full areola and nipple and no other breast tissue, had a cone shape or the nipples pointed to the sides, this may mean that they did not develop completely and therefore may have trouble making milk. See getting off to a good start.

Breast Reduction

Reduction surgery may affect your ability to produce enough milk for your baby. This is usually due to ducts being severed during surgery and milk not having a way to exit from the nipple. There is no way of predicting what will happen when you try to breastfeed. You have to wait until the baby is born and see how it goes. One complication that may occur is when the milk "comes in" and your breasts get engorged, all the milk may not have a way to exit the nipples because the ducts were severed during the surgery or there may be scar tissue. Try to have the baby nurse and then pump after every nursing session to maximize the amount of milk you can get out. In a few days, the areas of the breast that had no exit will stop producing milk and your engorgement will decrease. The areas from which milk was removed will continue to produce and now you can work on increasing the production from those areas. See getting off to a good start and low milk production.

Fibroadenoma or other lump removed or biopsied in the past

If the incision is far from the nipple and areole, this type of surgery should not impact your ability to breastfeed. If significant scar tissue is present deep in the breast, this area may be more prone to getting blocked ducts.

Nipple surgery, nipple biopsy, removal and repositioning of areole

These types of surgeries may significantly affect the ability of milk to exit from the breast because of severed ducts and possible scar tissue. The breast should be able to make milk normally and will likely get engorged in the first 2-3 days after delivery, but the milk may not have a way to exit the nipples. If no milk is able to come out at all, use ice packs and cabbage leaves to decrease the engorgement. If some milk is coming out try to have the baby nurse and then pump after every nursing session to maximize the amount of milk you can get out. In a few days, the areas of the breast that had no exit will stop producing milk and your engorgement will decrease. The areas from which milk was removed will continue to produce and now you can work on increasing the production from those areas.

Abscess Drainage

Most patients can continue to breastfeed the same day that an abscess was drained from the breast. Whenever possible, breast surgeons will make the incision far enough away from the nipple and areolae so that nursing can continue.