How to measure for a post-op bra?

Can you imagine the overwhelming pressure of measuring for a post-surgical garment prior to the procedure itself?

Well, fear not, as in this article, I will be walking you through the significance of taking pre-op measurements, and how to select the most appropriate bra, as well as a step-by-step clarification on how to take the measurements, why measuring is essential, and the different closures offered along with our bras.

Why is it important to measure for a post-op bra?

The cruciality of taking pre-op measurements cannot be stressed enough, you may feel that they’ll be ‘unnecessary’ or ‘insignificant’ but the role the under breast and breast circumference measurements play in identifying the best size for you following your procedure are substantial.

With each different breast procedure there are alternative routes and different mandatory material to find the most appropriate post-surgical bra. Our compression bras do not match accurately with the sizing of your standard UK bra size, which is why it is vital to take the measurements and not presume they match accurately.

Our bras predominantly range from XS-3XL, the only bras that follow the same format of standard bra sizes would be our PI special, and PI perfect, however, please be aware that they do not match truthfully, regardless of following the same structure and format they require you to take your specific under breast and breast circumference measurements. If these measurements are overlooked, you will not be able to identify the most suitable size following your procedure.

How to measure

When trying to measure for a post-op bra there are vital points that must be followed. Before you take the essential measurements, it is vital to remove all clothing, including your bra, as any additional material will add excessive dimensions leading to the wrong measurements.

Ensure not to take the measurements sitting down or resting, it is essential to be standing upright, bring the measuring tape around your body and to your under breast, this will give you the circumference of your under breast, once you write this down you can then move onto taking the measurements of your breast circumference, please take the tape measure and wrap it around your breasts taking the perimeter of the widest point, once you have this dimension you can write it down.

Please be aware that when taking the measurements you should pull tightly onto the tape, however, not to the point of suffocation or extreme discomfort, this is to ensure your bra will be the correct size and not unreasonably loose or tight.

When you know both measurements you can then scroll down the page of the bra you are interested in and it will introduce you to our personalised measuring guide, depending on whether you’ve measured in inches or cm, you will be able to select the units and compare the sizes you’ve taken with our guide, this will allow you to identify which bracket you fall into.

Depending on what procedure you’re due to have you will have to take into consideration different points, as if you were having an augmentation, you would need to know the size of your implants and increase it in accordance with the implants and your size, though if you were having a reduction then you would need to know roughly what size your surgeon will go down to and in accordance with this you will go down a size while ensuring you leave adequate room for swelling.

Fastening and adjustability

We have a variety of closures available with our bras to ease the process of fastening the garment following your procedure!

• Variant  – hook and eyes across the front of the garment, underlain with fabric to avoid any discomfort against your skin!
• Comfort – zipper underlain with row of hooks to bring the zip closer together, and additional fabric clear beneath the hooks to avoid discomfort against your skin! 

When trying to identify the best size it is vital to remember that our bras have variant and comfort fastenings, these two different fastenings enable different levels of ease when wearing the garment, the variant fastening would be three sets of hook and eyes placed at the front of the garment, this option will give you room for adjustability, so whenever you desire you will be able to loosen or tighten the bra.

Alternatively, we also have our comfort fastening which would be a zipper along the front, beneath the zipper there is a set of hook and eyes, however, please be aware that they are not as frequent and are solely intended to bring the zipper closer together to make it easier to close. The zipper is beneficial for any customers who find it significantly harder to use their fingers frequently, they may find the ease of pulling up the zipper far more convenient and practical than individually doing up the hook and eyes.

As well as adjustable and alternating fastenings our bras also have the specialty of flexible straps, which allows you to loosen and tighten the straps to your comfort, whichever length provides you with the utmost ease and compression, you can adjust as you wish.

Specific measurement significance

When measuring for a post-op bra there are multiple aspects that must be considered, as easier as it would be to just go off your standard sizing, it is vital to understand that our bras do not follow that typical composition, they have a specific guide that must be examined. Please be aware that if you choose to go off what your standard UK size is, you will not be able to identify the correct size, regardless of if you are a 32B, this size will not be accurate when compared to our guide. Taking the measurements will only take thirty seconds, once the measurements are done and out of the way, then we can just move down and onto finding what the best size would be. 

Between various sizes

There can be particular situations where you find yourself between two measurements, and this could be confusing, so it is important to remember that the only dimension changing will be your breast circumference, your under breast will always stay the same. It’s crucial that your under breast isn’t excessively tight, as if that measurement is too tight you will find breathing troublesome, or excessively loose as this will not give you the intended compression, and when recovering from a breast procedure we want to ensure you have the most appropriate compression but also that you’re comfortable and can breathe normally, as they will be worn for a lengthy period of time.

Contact for guidance

There can be instances where after taking the appropriate measurements and comparing with our sizing guide you can still be very confused, this is a completely understandable situation, if you ever feel like you would like some guidance please do not hesitate to get in touch with our lovely customer care team, we are always more than happy to assist and guide you in the best way possible, you can either send us an email at – info@lipoelastic.co.uk, reach us through our Instagram or Facebook - @lipoelastic, or give us a call at 02080905001, and we’d be delighted to direct you in the most suitable direction!

Appointment for fittings

There can sometimes still be occasions where even after taking the appropriate measurements and consulting you don’t feel comfortable, and therefore we have a boutique!

Our boutique is available for all customers who wish to try the sizes before purchasing them. Prior to coming to the boutique, we recommend calling us or leaving an email to make an appointment to ensure we have availability and so we can allocate an appropriate time slot for you. The boutique gives you the opportunity to try on not only different size but also different styles and materials to identify what would be the best fit for you following your procedure.

If you find that you are near our boutique, we would always be more than happy to welcome you and guide you through the process of identifying the appropriate size, through a process of trial and error with different sizes and styles.

Without the appropriate measurements, the correct size selection is impossible. Prioritising the accuracy of the measurements the first time around, will prevent the possibility of having to go back and forth to trial alternative sizes soon after, especially if your procedure is so soon. Given the immense pressure you experience throughout this process, easing your garment and sizing worries to encourage a stress-free recovery period is our highest priority.

Wouldn’t you want to avoid all complications regarding inaccurate sizes following your procedure?