Bras for immediately after Mastectomy with DIEP Flap Reconstruction

Going through breast cancer treatment Surgery
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Looking for some advice on bras for post-surgery.

My Surgical Team posted out instructions on the type of bra I should get for post-surgery (Mastectomy with immediate DIEP Flap Reconstruction).  To my surprise it states ‘post-surgery’ bras are not suitable, so I can’t use the front-fastening bras I’ve currently been using since my Lumpectomy & cavity shaves.

*** It states that I’ve to get non-wired firm support/total support/maximum support bras with a ‘back’ fastening that I’ll need to wear day and night for approx. 6 weeks. ***

My perception of a firm/total support bra was one that would be thick/padded and quite rigid.

I ordered one online that stated it was total support but it was a very thin/flimsy material  (not padded) and I didn’t feel it gave any support at all.

Maybe I’m just not used to this type, as I’ve always wore bras that were thick/padded - or maybe it was just the wrong size for me.

I googled how to measure your correct bra size at home and it appears I’ve probably been wearing the wrong size bra for years - (although the same size bra can be a different size depending on what shop you get it from, if you know what I mean).

What should a ‘total support’ bra be like - should it be a thin material so wounds can breathe through it or should they/can they be thick, padded?

I just want to make sure I purchase the correct type to help in my healing post-surgery.

I’m also restricted to ordering online, as I’m avoiding shops so as to avoid COVID-19 before my surgery, so it’s more difficult to see how thick the material is.

Any advice with this is much appreciated, thanks.

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@MajesticTiger  hello and nice to meet you. I had a mastectomy with immediate DIEP reconstruction 4 weeks ago. I found The Who bra thing baffling too. 
I was told to get back fastening for immediately after too. I bough some bras from ASDA and Matalan at the advice of the BCN. Problem I had was that I was so swollen they wouldn’t fasten at the back and had to get my husband so go and buy more which was stressful. I am usually a 36D and I ended up with a 40DD so worth knowing your back size with go up 1 or 2 sizes. 
As for the bra, I got one of those bras from M&S which is very structured and with no padding - like the kind of ones my mum would wear - really strong material. The. After a couple of weeks I swapped for a far more comfortable one that was easier to sleep in. This is much softer and more like a sports bra with good support but no padding. I will post the links to the bra my BCN recommended at the start. Hope this helps and any questions please also. Louise x

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I’ve just been looking into bras for post surgery and came across a company called

Nicola Jane who seem really helpful.  If you do an on-line fitting with them (a strange concept I know, but the fitter is just in a bra too!), then if you order bras over the phone you dont pay postage and can get several sizes to try and return, again with no extra cost.  I’m still trying all sorts of sizes, but have at least narrowed it down to the style of bra I want.  Hope this helps.