Op is booked for the first week of December and the one thing nobody has given me a straight answer on is the vest. The clinic pack says "wear your garment as directed" which is not directions. So a few questions rolled into one, sorry.
How many weeks am I actually in this thing. Is it genuinely day AND night or is that just for the first few days. Can I take it off to shower or do I sleep and wash in it like some sort of medieval situation. And does it come off for good all at once or do you wean off it. I run four times a week normally and I am already twitchy about the downtime, so I want to know what I am signing up for. Cheers.
Six weeks for me, day and night, and yes that means sleeping in it. You get a short window to shower, so you take it off, wash quickly, pat dry and get straight back in it. It is not glamorous but you stop noticing after the first week. The forget-you-are-wearing-it stage arrives around week two.
On the running, park it. I know you do not want to hear it but the vest is the least of your worries there, it is the swelling and the healing tissue that keep you out, not the fabric.
Mine was four weeks full time then a couple more weeks just at night, so some surgeons do wean you off, some just stop it at six. Depends who does you. The number that actually matters is whatever YOUR surgeon writes down, not what we did. Ask them at the pre-op and write it on the fridge.
#4November 24, 2025, 2:08 pm The direct answer: an elasticated compression vest is typically worn day and night, commonly for 4 to 6 weeks. Yes, that includes sleeping in it, with a short daily window out of it to shower and let the skin breathe, then straight back on. Some surgeons run a full-time period and then step you down to nights only for a week or two, others simply stop at the end date; both are normal, and your own surgeon's protocol is the one to follow because it is written for how your chest was operated on.
What the vest is actually for is worth understanding, because it makes the weeks easier to accept. It supports the chest while the tissues settle, holds the skin down against the new contour, and limits the space where fluid can collect, which is how it helps reduce swelling and the risk of a seroma. That is also why it is not optional and not something to cut short because it is annoying. Bruising and swelling are usually at their worst in the first 2 to 3 weeks and then ease, and the chest goes on settling over roughly 3 to 6 months, long after the vest is off. Our week-by-week recovery guide sets out what each stage tends to look like, and the dedicated piece on the compression garment covers the showering and washing questions in full.
On running specifically: desk work is often reasonable at around 1 to 2 weeks, but strenuous exercise, gym and anything that raises your blood pressure or strains the chest is usually held off for 4 to 6 weeks, for the same reason the vest exists. When exactly you go back is a decision for the surgeon following you up, not a date to guess from a forum, because it depends on how your particular chest is healing.
Buy a second vest. Best twenty quid I spent, meant one was always clean and dry while the other was in the wash, so the shower window was never a panic. Nobody tells you that and it made the six weeks so much more bearable.
This thread stopped getting replies two months back, so it is now closed. Anything about your own chest, an incision that is healing oddly, a lump you can still feel, or a side that has swollen belongs with your surgeon at a proper follow-up, where they can put hands on it rather than guess.
