| Recovery after breast augmentation is designed to | | | | not pulled) The patients were not informed which |
| day to be short and very lifestyle-limiting. | | | | devices were not active. In the next twenty-eight |
| Anti-inflammatory medications and early arm physical | | | | patients, the device locations were reversed. Patients |
| therapy are the mainstays of an aggressive recovery | | | | were instructed to wear the devices for the first |
| program after breast implants. Long gone are the | | | | seventy-two hours after surgery after which they |
| need for bulky dressings and restrictions on physical | | | | were to be discarded. Patients were given a sheet |
| activity after surgery. The less pain a patient has, the | | | | so that they could rate their postoperative pain on a |
| more physical therapy they can do to further | | | | scale (1 - 10 and, most importantly, compare and rate |
| expedite their recovery. In an effort to control pain | | | | the pain between the two breasts after the third |
| after breast augmentation, I often employ Actipatch | | | | day of surgery. |
| pulsed electromagnetic therapy. (topical patches) To | | | | In the first twenty patients, fourteen rated the |
| determine whether this was beneficial, a prospective | | | | active patch breast as less uncomfortable than the |
| clinical study was done. | | | | control patch side. In the next twenty-eight patients, |
| A prospective clinical study of fifty (48) women | | | | twenty-one rated the active side less painful. In total, |
| undergoing breast augmentation was conducted from | | | | thirty-five patients (73%) reported less pain and |
| November 1 2007 to November 1 2008. Women | | | | uncomfortability on the breast that received pulsed |
| underwent breast augmentation with either saline or | | | | electromagnetic therapy than the control side. |
| silicone breast implants through a transaxillary (saline) | | | | Pulsed electromagnetic therapy has been around for |
| or inframammary (silicone) incision. Patients were | | | | a long time and its potential benefits are based on |
| aware that they would receive Actipatch therapy as | | | | creating an anti-inflammatory effect. Actipatch |
| part of their postoperative protocol. At the | | | | provides a simple, low-cost method of delivery of |
| completion of surgery, Actipatch devices were placed | | | | this healing technology. In this breast augmentation |
| over the medial and superior aspect of the breasts | | | | study, Actipatch demonstrated less pain within the |
| (over the pectoralis muscle), taped into position inside | | | | first few days after surgery. Given its ease of use |
| their surgical bra. For the first twenty patients on the | | | | and no potential for creating any adverse problems, |
| left breast, the device was activated (activating tab | | | | its use as part of a breast augmentation recovery |
| pulled) and on the opposite right breast the device | | | | protocol appears to have offer patients some real |
| was not activated. (activating tab was trimmed but | | | | benefits. |