Topic: Breast Lift/Reduction for Symmetry Question

I had a lift and reduction on both sides after completing a lumpectomy on my left side.  I do have nipple sensation.  They don't completely remove it anymore.  They kind of leave it "tethered" and then just move it to where it belongs.  Gross, I know and I am certainly glad that I didn't have to see it in the surgery room, but it looks great now and I had sensation the next day.

I had a lift on my non cancer side and did loose some sensation. I still have some, but it is about 50% of what I used to have. My nips were too sensitive before, so this worked out well for me.  But if not loosing any sensation is important to you, you should express your concerns very clearly to your PS so you don't end up with a result you are unhappy with.  Good luck.

whoa... wait, they move the nipple on the good breast???  seriously?

if so, i'm glad i read this.  i meet with my plastic surgeon on Monday.  guess i need to discuss this one with him!

I had mastectomy with reconstruction in 1990, in 2000 implant had to be removed and replaced and at same time I had other breast lifted.  I was told and it is true that a lift sags after awhile, especially if you're premenopause.  Did not lose any sensation in lifted breast.  Scar is vertical from bottom center of breast to nipple and around nipple.  thought the lift operation was harder than expected, maybe because I had implant replaced on other side at same time, or maybe because I always expect to bounce right back! If my memory is right I healed in a week or 2. Tho sagging again wasn't sure if I wanted to go thru a lift again, just yanked the shoulder strap up on my bra! 

Unfortunately my mamo in August showed DCIS in the lifted breast, I opted for a 2nd mastectomy and am starting over with old implant removed and tissue expanders in both breasts. My vertical scar in lifted breast is pretty "spread", I hope PS will be able to take care of that in final implant exchange. I found that silicone circle around nipple helped with redness of scar, I can actually see where the silicone stopped.

Best to you "sweatyspice" in making this tough decision! (I've got to come up with a fun name for myself

I had a unilateral mastectomy followed up by DIEP reconstruction a year later, then revisions (lift and reduction) on the "good" side.  I'm very happy with the results.  I still have sensation in that nipple, but it's not quite the same as before ;-( but better than no sensation ;-)

The only noticeable scar runs from the bottom of the nipple down to the mammary fold.  Am hoping it will fade in time, but considering everything else, it's all good!!

Lisa

Katey, I hadn't thought of the issue of expansion with old scars, thanks for sharing that experience.

I didn't get the lift, my PS really wanted it but I hated putting scars on the other side and was scared of nipple sensation loss.  When I'm naked and looking in a mirror I wish I had had the lift.  When dressed they look fine.  My PS would still like to do the lift, I'm still undecided.  

likes2draw: 

Hi...saw your post.  My PS is recommending to do the lift on my healthy breast now (pending in a month?) to actually make my breasts more symmetrical while waiting for my exchange in the months to come.  I just finished my last expansion last week.  Obviously, my breasts look very uneven since my MX appears HUGE with the TE.  After the exchange, she will wait a little longer to place an implant in the healthy breast.  She wants the MX to "settle" after the placement of the perm. implant....sounds like a long drawn out process I know but it makes sense to me.  So, I guess you can say I am looking at possibly 3 more surgeries. 

Everyone's situation  is different.  I hope all goes well with you!

NAE

I am going to hop into this thread with another scenario - one that has been on my mind for awhile now but I can't do any surgery until the end of March next year.

I had a lumpectomy.  Has anyone done implants and lift after a lumpectomy?  I would love for my breasts to be bigger and of course point north again.

You will not lose much sensation in a lift/reduction. In a mastectomy the loss of sensation is almost total.

RE : nipple sensation: I didn't lose any.

I had lumpectomy (left breast) and breast reduction on both breasts in the same operation.  The shape is great.

I was 34 H, and I reckon I am probably about 34 D or E presently.  But they may settle down a bit more so I may go smaller.  The ledt (lumpectomy) side has been left slightly bigger as it may shrink a bit during rads.

I did NOT have an implant or increase in size.

I would recommend this procedure butbe aware, there is a lot of healing afterwards.

best wishes to all xxxxx

Straight lumpectomy with simultaneous reduction : Mastopexy.

To respond to the original poster, I chose single mastectomy because the other breast was healthy.  I understand that there is a risk of nipple sensitivity loss, but I am still happy with my choice to only have the single-side mastectomy.  My belief is that I will be happier with one reduced, natural breast (w/o nipple sensitivity) and one DIEP-reconstructed one, than I would have been with two reconstructed ones, but that is my own personal feelings.  For people who are not BRCA positive, I don't think a dbl mastectomy is warranted, but I understand the fear.  I just don't think for me that it would have been worth it to remove something that might never get cancer.

Hi LT -- I don't know abou the recovery (I haven't gotten there yet) but I did want to comment that from what I've been told by doctors and by people who have had reduction surgery, you don't necessarily lose all nipple sensitivity.  It varies from person to person, but it seems that most have some or even most of their sensitivity still, when all is said and done. 

Cheers,

Lilah

Linda- good luck for your op on Nov. 23rd.

Healing time etc : well, different people have different experiences.  Also, healing tends to be slower if you are doing chemo, which I don't think you are.

REmember that quite a lot of flesh gets moved around, so you will find that you are numb for some time, then the nerves start coming back and can be a bit painful, with weird little explosion-feelings!   It is a good idea to ask the surgeon, or onc or whoever how you might avoid too much scar tisue and whether you migh do some massage to help.

The op incision is roughly one inch upwards from where the breast attaches to the chest wall and I expect you will have the anchor type incision.  I had little bruising visible, but it feels sore and I used Arnica cream in case there was sort of dee pbruising.  I was sore in the "tail" area, which is between the breast and under your arms (this is muscles I think, not related to nodes).  I had no problems moving my arms abou t very wuickly, though you won't want to reach too high.

I could drive within a couple of weeks but it did hurt going over speed humps!

Enquire about getting suitable dressings to reduce scarring.  You won't want them to begin with, but they do work very well later.

I have full nipple sensation and actually my surgeon said she doesn't have much trouble with saving nipples.  It is apparently all a bit random because whilst I assumed that most people's breasts are of a similar design, it turns out that nerves etc etc just exist where they feel like it!!

There is quite a bit of swelling initially, so don't worry about size to start with as things will settle down.  The numbness starts wearing off in different bits of the breast so that's quite random too.

Good luck with everything -