Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the degrees of pain experienced following various breast cosmetic surgery procedures and to evaluate the existing pain treatment methods.

Materials and methods: Patients who underwent subpectoral breast augmentation, mastopexy, or breast reduction between 2017 and 2022 were evaluated retrospectively. A total of 90 patients were randomly selected, with 30 patients in each group. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess pain levels. The data were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

Results: The subpectoral breast augmentation group exhibited the highest recovery VAS score. Postoperative 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24-h VAS values were higher in the breast augmentation group than in the breast reduction and mastopexy groups. No statistically significant difference observed between mastopexy and breast reduction in terms of VAS scores during the evaluation periods. Statistically significant higher VAS scores were observed for subpectoral breast augmentation at all times compared to the preoperative period.

Conclusions: Subpectoral breast augmentation is associated with higher levels of postoperative pain compared to breast reduction and mastopexy. Effective postoperative pain prevention is crucial following aesthetic breast surgeries. It not only helps to reduce hospital stays but also aids in patient recovery, facilitates a quicker return to daily activities, and enhances patient satisfaction. To achieve this objective, it is advantageous to utilize a practical pain treatment algorithm that is readily applicable.

Level of evidence iii: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .