Nipple reconstruction
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Hi . Question for those who had nipple reconstruction... Is it true you can have procedure done and recover over a long weekend?
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The procedure itself is usually nothing more than a couple small incisions, and few stitches and away you go....truly minor surgery stuff. My nerves were my biggest issue, and that was more related to past history of procedures done under local freezing....if I hadn't taken ativan to deal with that...I could easily have gone out for coffee on the way home. The emotional journey....different story. Physically, I had no pain, during or after.
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Nihani, I will take Ativan too. I have developed a fear for needles lately. They can never find my veins and the re-poke and pain is too much. Other than that my surgeries go ok. I hope this one will be a breeze!
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Anyone have their nips removed?
I am seriously thinking about it, since there is NOTHING right or remotely close to matching nipples (high flat & lower 2CM and larger, with areola color & a strip above and below*....the only thing that is preventing me, is I may have to pay out of pocket and I DO have feeling now, and am fearful I may lose it.
* would have to have a tattoo areola the size of a dinner plate to cover the colored area.....ummm that is a bit of an exaggeration...but get my drift?
Hugs,
Di
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Mommy,
I had mine done at my PS' office, stopped for breakfast on the way home and continued with regular life. It just took a bit longer to get ready in the morning while I was gauze-cutting/stacking/taping. And it does make clothing choices tricky again for a while. Scarves, prints, textured tops are all good.
I'm a couple of months out now and can wear whatever if I have a good t-shirt bra on.
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Di2012.....I'm so sorry you have such an unhappy and poor quality experience with the nipple recon. Have you gone for some second opinions??? The PS who seems to be so unwilling to try to correct things surely isn't your only option.
Headeast....truly...an IV isn't usually part of the process for this. It is in every way, a minor surgery, and a local freezing is completely appropriate. If the thought of freezing to your breast is hard to handle...remember, you likely have very diminished sensation, and may not feel anything at all. I also had some minor lipo to the thigh, to do some fat grafting to some the area just above the flap.....even that freezing wasn't bad at all....On the pain scale..I'd have to give the nip recon a 0. Not enough to register!!! After..the lipo and fat graft site were sore, but nothing horrific and totally doable.
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I had nipple reconstruction 1 week ago today. Everything looks really great as far as placement & healing. The nipple is quite a bit larger than my natural one, but I expected this. In 1 week I do not think it has shrunk at all. Some questions I have...
1. When did most of you start to see it shrinking?
2. When was the shrinking complete?
3. When could you safely wear a bra & smush it a bit? I have just been wearing everything loose.
Thanks! 😃
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Hi Donna,
I'm sure you'll get a variety of answers. Mine did not appear to shrink at all until I stopped stacking gauze around them at about 7 weeks I think. Then they quickly shrank by about half. They seem to have stayed about that size since. I'm nearly 3 months out now.
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dulcigirl, thanks for the reply. I only had gauze with holes cut out for the first 2 days. Since then I don't have anything on it. I just shower each day and drizzle soap & water to clean it, pat it dry and then wear a loose comfortable shirt - that's about it. When did you start wearing a bra? If I wore a padded bra now, I could wear regular clothes. I am just keeping it like it is, until I meet with my PS next week.
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I wore a bra the whole time, but my stack of gauze kept the nips safe from any pressure. (Stacked 4 2x2 squares with holes cut out, then a 5th on top.)
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I am 4 weeks post op. I have worn a bra the whole time, but I have a nipple guard on. My nipple has not shrunk at all. I was told to wear the guard for another week, but I may add a week or two. I've been wearing a firm cupped bra that has some extra space inside so it basically goes above the nipple guard. I can wear pretty much anything that way.
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I have been going "commando" since developing skin irritation to the tape and polysporin. The first two weeks, I really didn't see any change in the nip. This week, there is definite softening, and a bit of shrinking.
I tried wearing a bra with the gauze (no tape) inside a bra today....kept finding the gauze shifted and the nip getting pushed one way or another. I'm going back to nothing, until I see the PS on Monday. That will be 4 weeks for me.
Where are you ladies finding bras that have enough room for things like gauze and nipple guards, that don't shift around???
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i had to use tape to keep everything in place.
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well crappo....not doing the tape thing again!!! But thanks for the info.
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I used tiny bits of tape, too, on the gauze or nursing pad stacks. The plastic nipple guards scared the heck out of me---the ones loaned to me were HUGE and I was afraid if they shifted onto the nipples, the nips would disappear for sure, or be sliced in half. I try to wear bras with molded cups as opposed to the stretchy numbers that flatten things out. I don't know if it's helping or not. In the evening when I'm home, I go braless and let them flop around, LOL.
Dulcigirl and I are about the same time out, similar stories.
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I tape my nipple guard. It is not hard plastic. I just happen to have a molded bra with extra space because my other breast has been bigger before getting the implant put in last November.
This whole flattening out thing is weird. I've been trying to flatten out my DEIP scar for 6 months and it's hardly budging! I did get a steroid shot to it 2 weeks ago and it seems to be really helping. Yea!
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Mine was done at the same time as fat grafting, so I had to have general anesthesia, which made the recovery a bit more than it would have been if it was an office procedure...mostly just more tired. The nipple recon had no pain (initially), and my only pain was from the fat graft donor sites. Since I am thin, they went in a lot of areas, so I was pretty sore...nothing like BMX though. My surgery was 16 days ago. I protected my nips with these sponge things they send you home with for a few days, and then gauze.
One of my nips healed great; the other split completely apart and came open and when I called, they kept telling me it was normal until I sent them a picture (and got a very prompt phone call back once they got my picture). Since I have had bleeding with the problem side, I have had to wear a bra to hold the gauze in place (can't wear tape). Mine have flattened this week because of the bra, but that's OK. I don't care if they are flat. I prefer that to the headlights on look. Layering clothes the first week or so when the nipple is protected does help to hide it. Good luck Headeast! We've traveled a lot of this journey together!
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mammalou, have you tried the scar away strips,(sold at your local drug store) they really work great at softening up scars. even helped with some scar tissue under my skins surface
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Those of you that have been there and done this - did you protect your new nips at night time with the gauze or just during the day? Right now my PS has me using nursing/nipple pads from the baby section of the store. I cut a small hole in the middle of one, cover with another, and then tape the whole thing onto my chest. No bras allowed. My skin is needing to breathe and a break from the tape. Will this be ok if I go without while sleeping?
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bayoubabe....boy, can I identify with the skin issues. I cannot tolerate any gauze or tape, it seems. I have found the only thing that seems to be comfortable, and not compromise the nip, is the softest, loosest tops I can find. At night, I wear a silk, extremely extremely loose pj top, and if I'm hanging around at home....often go to that during the day too. I am small boobed now, so it's pretty comfortable. I haven't noticed continued shrinking/softening, for at least 3 or 4 days now. Don't know if that's normal, or has any bearing on what to expect when I don't have to be so protective of the new nip. I see my PS on Monday, which will be 4 weeks out. Hopefully I'll know more after that appt. Still....very glad I went through with it.
The little bit of fat grafting he did to create a better contour above the flap has turned out wonderfully. Does anyone know how long you need to wait to know if the grafting "takes"????
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Nihani, thank you for the advise.
Kbee, yes! We've been through this together. I am sorry to hear you had issues with one of your nips. How is your hair doing! I got my first hair cut today, just to get sime shape. The back of my hair was bushy and the front too light. Now it is more even.
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Had my nip followup appt today...He's happy, I'm happy. He is pretty sure that polysporin should be a no-no for me. He gave me a bit of a lecture about not contacting him when things were going south, but he also agreed with what I did to sort things out. I am off all restrictions so put on a support bra and went for a run tonight, that had to include some walking, since I've lost some fitness, but.....nip survived, and I know the fitness will come back. He feels I'm about halfway through the "shrinking" process, and although the fat grafted area looks awesome right now, he'll likely have one more go at it in a month or so. Then tattoo and I'M DONE!!!!!
Happy camper here tonight
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Yay, Nihahi!!!! Can you hear me clapping??
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I sure can Dulci.....thanks!!!!! Currently celebrating with a mouthful of orange jujubes, courtesy of hubby's stash. Shall I have a few for you too?
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My PS is doing the nip in his office and the tattooing as well after it heals. The skin comes from that flap on the side. No more knocking me out, please!!!
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Nihahi, go right ahead!! If they aren't chocolate I don't want them. Lol!!
Lost...AMEN to no more anesthesia!!!
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Nihahi - so glad things are going well! Wish mine would shrink faster! My natural nip is just a little nub after being messed with in the last three surgeries (poor thing - no wonder it's shrunk to next to nothing! I think it's trying to hide and not be noticed again!) This new man made nip is still VERY tall and HUGE looking. I think I have the bandages down in the morning, but it still sure does slow down my morning routine. Never thought I would miss my bras!
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bayoubabe....I had a reduction and lift on my natural side at the time of my flap recon. That natural nip is softer and less prominent than it was before, which is fine with me, actually. I'm thinking even if my "new" nip shrinks quite a bit, I'll still end up with a good match. I honestly don't remember seeing any changes in size of the new nip until into week 3. Hang in there, things DO change. I'm very glad I asked to be "smaller" after recon, as I can't imagine being comfortable without a bra if I was any larger than I am now. Quite comfortable in just soft camisoles. YIPPEE
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I had my nipple reconstruction 2 weeks ago. I now have no restrictions and am able to wear a bra w/ out gauze or anything. It is healing nicely. It has shrunk a lot since having it done, but is still larger than my natural one. My PS thinks the sizing will match well, once it shrinks the whole way. Very happy that I had this done!
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5 weeks post op and I am allowed to remove nipple guard tomorrow. I'm wondering if I should keep wearing it for awhile to help with shrinkage. I'm a little nervous to go bare! I have hardly shrunk at all and a little would be ok.
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