How your breast looks after surgery
After breast cancer surgery, you may have bruising, swelling and scars.
Your breast after surgery
At first, the breast area may look swollen and bruised. But this will settle in a few weeks. In time, the scar will flatten and fade.
If you normally wear a bra, wearing a supportive crop top might feel more comfortable until the swelling goes down. You will also need to wear a supportive top or bra in hospital after surgery and when at home. This can help to protect the breast and reduce bruising.
If you are not comfortable wearing either of these, ask for some advice from your breast care nurse. They can tell you about the best way to support the breast.
Related pages
Scars
Before your operation, your surgeon or nurse will explain where the scars will be.
Scars from breast-conserving surgery are usually small. But this depends on the amount of tissue removed. The scars may be in the area where the cancer was, or a short distance away. This depends on where the surgeon makes the cut. Your surgeon will try to make any scars as small as possible so they are less noticeable.
If you have a mastectomy, the scar will be across the skin of the chest. It may go up into the armpit. If you have surgery to the lymph nodes, the scar will be in the armpit. It should not be noticeable from the front.
The scar will be firm and slightly raised. Over time, it will flatten and fade. If you have pale skin, your scar will be red straight after your operation. If you have black or brown skin, it will be darker. Everyone’s skin heals differently. Scars can take longer to fade if you have black or brown skin or fair, freckled skin. This means they may be more noticeable for longer.
If you are worried about scars, talk to your nurse or surgeon.
Coping with a changed appearance
The first time you look at your breast or chest after surgery you may want to have someone with you. Or you might prefer to be alone. Your breast care nurse will talk to you about this and help support you.
Changes to your appearance can cause concerns about your body image. This is the picture in your mind of how your body looks and works. These concerns can make you feel less confident. This may also affect your sex life.
You may find that breast reconstruction can help give you back your confidence.
Breast prosthesis
Some women choose to wear a breast prosthesis. This is a false breast. Your breast care nurse can give you one if you do not have breast reconstruction during a mastectomy. The prosthesis is soft, and you can wear it inside a bra. It is usually called a cumfie or softie. You can wear it straight after your operation.
When your wound has healed, you can choose a long-term prosthesis made of soft plastic called silicone. This usually happens about 6 weeks after your operation. The prosthesis will be matched to the size and shape of your other breast and your skin colour. You may find your confidence gradually improves as you get used to it.
You can get different types of prosthesis from the NHS. Breast Cancer Now can also give you a list of suppliers.
About our information
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References
Below is a sample of the sources used in our breast cancer information. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at cancerinformationteam@macmillan.org.uk
ESMO. Early breast cancer clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. 2019, Vol 30, pp1192–1220. Available from: https://www.esmo.org/guidelines/guidelines-by-topic/breast-cancer/early-breast-cancer [accessed 2023].
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management. 2018. Updated 2023. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng101 [accessed 2023].
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Reviewers
This information has been written, revised and edited by Macmillan Cancer Support’s Cancer Information Development team. It has been reviewed by expert medical and health professionals and people living with cancer. It has been approved by Dr Rebecca Roylance, Consultant Medical Oncologist and Professor Mike Dixon, Professor of Surgery and Consultant Breast Surgeon.
Our cancer information has been awarded the PIF TICK. Created by the Patient Information Forum, this quality mark shows we meet PIF’s 10 criteria for trustworthy health information.
The language we use
We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.
We want our information to be as clear as possible. To do this, we try to:
- use plain English
- explain medical words
- use short sentences
- use illustrations to explain text
- structure the information clearly
- make sure important points are clear.
We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected.
You can read more about how we produce our information here.
Date reviewed
Our cancer information meets the PIF TICK quality mark.
This means it is easy to use, up-to-date and based on the latest evidence. Learn more about how we produce our information.
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