At the London Fitting Clinics I see patients roughly four to six weeks after their breast surgery to fit them for their first Breast prosthesis and Post surgery bra, I try not to see them earlier as I don’t want to be putting patients at risk by touching the scar area. when I see the ladies they normally have their post surgery bra on and a softie, The post surgery bra is normally very soft and gentle and looser than a regular bra, there is normally a lot of bra in it as it covers all of the areas.

so when I see my lady I put on my gloves and I assess the wound first and sterilise my measuring tape, if I see that the wound is not red and is healing nicely and the client tells me there is no pain or soreness then I will proceed. I have a number of questions to ask her, when was LMC, is Lymphedema present? are you on steroids and so on. are you on menopause? I also assess the existing breast if its a single mastectomy and see what shape it is and how it presents then when all that is done I can measure for her first post surgery snug fitting bra.

I enjoy this process a lot to see the clients reaction when she finally has a beautiful bra on and a prosthesis that fits, their smile says it all and at times many of the ladies do cry but cry with happiness to see how they look at the end of the process.

However its not uncommon for a client to call me up a few days later to say her bra is feeling a bit tight and can she come back to me to retry it, Of course I tell her to come asap and I will see her, On examination I know instantly what the problem is, the clients is not used to wearing a snug bra since surgery and psychologically it is hard to start going back into regular bras after surgery, as a women who has had 10 surgeries on my breast I feel very restricted for a while after going back into regular bras, its like we have to retrain our minds to wear a regular bra, and lets face it i think all women regardless of surgery or not all got used to wearing no bras in lockdown and going back into wearing a bra for work after lock down was a trial in itself.

so if you are sure you were fully fitted by a professional and your bra fitted you perfectly on the day and you were fitted to the middle hook ask yourself is the bra hurting you or is it the restriction that is making you uncomfortable? see if letting your bra out to the outside link helps to make it more comfortable, and always make sure you go back and get checked again.

Just two weeks ago this scenario happened and when the lady came back to me and i put the same size bra on her in my clinic she said that one fitted better, she was surprised when i said its the same size bra, I explained how getting used to wearing a bra again is hard but it does get easier. I also suggest that ladies wear their comfort bra when at home.

Be comfortable that is the main thing.

To all my lovely wonderful powerful ladies I am in awe of you and your strength, x

Maureen Osayi

The London & Harrow Fitting Clinics Ltd