Nipple reconstruction
Comments
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notbuying it - I'd give it a bit yet. I know sometimes it can take a while to line up all the players for surgery. There are a lot of schedules to be synchronized, especially if your PS has particular folks he prefers to work with in the OR. If no word in another week or so I would definitely check again though.
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I had my nips done at the time of the exchange, so of course I was under general anesthesia. My PS kind of twirled the skin and stitched at the BMX incision site. He said no special after-care was needed, and he took the stitches out two weeks later. I am very pleased with how they look. I will go back to the PS for tattoos in 12 days.
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12 days for tattoos?! I have to wait at least 2-3 months for mine, to let the skin heal and the scars to soften.
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thanks, S&S, i am trying to be patient...it's the last step (fingers-crossed) in this never ending process and I just would feel better having a date scheduled - would eliminate that middle of the night anxiety - "maybe he just didn't like me" lol or is that paranoia? anyway i will probably bug them Monday...
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Had my nipples reconstructed back in May of 2012, one "took" and the other went flat. I had 3-D tattoos and was pleased with the result. So, I have one nipple that is "always there" and the other side that isn't. At my last visit with the PS, he offered the idea of removing the one nipple and then I would go back for a "touch-up" on the tattoos. He said it would be an easy in-office procedure. I declined for now but am thinking about it. I think I said no so quickly because it sounded awful to have that done while awake! It would be better for me to have them both flat. Anyone with similar experience or suggestions for me?
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finally scheduled for Dec 5th...in the meantime i contacted my original PS's office to ask if he could do the areola/nipple recon from the right side excess skin & they acted like i was crazy - said there would be no blood flow & the skin would die! what?! the new guy said no problem - what is the deal?
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Notbuyingit, has that PS never even heard of a skin graft??? Maybe they thought you just wanted them to plonk it on top, rather than graft it on.
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i think she mentioned that but acted like it was not an option? Yet I assume that's what the new PS will do - is it risky? like a transplant, that the skin could die? I knew I had read posts from you Switzerland ladies saying it was the way to go - I just think it will look & feel (not literally) more like the other side
my TE created boob with implant is still so painful, i feel i made a wrong decision there- i want to make sure i get this one right.
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My PS, her intern and the nurses were all adamant that the chances of it not taking were miniscule (I bugged them a lot about that!), although I have no doubt it does happen in some cases. There's also the donor site to look after - mine was adjacent to my labia, so it was awkward for a couple of weeks, but healing has been uneventful. My PS thinks that many doctors don't do graft nips simply because doing
the origami type or star incision type is quick and easily done
in-office, nothing to do with risk.They strip the skin from the noob then stitch the graft skin into place, forming the nipple and stitching it into shape. The body creates connections with the graft skin just like any healing wound, and basically, the areola/nip is scar tissue when it heals, but that means that the skin actually feels different, like a real areola/nip. If I get tattoos, it will be touching up only. I'm not sure I'll need to bother, though.
It's a big decision, so take your time. I haven't been brave enough yet to set up my picture forum account, despite getting approval months ago, but I'll let you know when I do!
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thanks for the info, lahela - this guy says he can take it from the excess skin under my right side where there is an unnatural bulge from surgery ( i had reduction) when they lypo out the fat - that way one less surgery area. When they did the reduction they moved my right nipple & made it smaller - i'm thinking this will have a similar look.
I have no doubt your PS is right, another reason i'm switching, i have gotten the feeling form mine from the beginning that he was not very committed to the best outcome for me...sort of a "this is the best you can expect" atitude
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Had my BIL nip recon on the 8th I am so happy I did it I had twisted flap PS used my skin paddle that was there from Lat Dorsi and I am even happier about that because that is nice and flat now!! It took me 6 years to finally be brave enough to move forward. Unfortunately I broke out in hives and have spent the last week dealing with this weird event. I cannot wait to get back to focusing on my recon! My scars look really good. Fingers crossed. I will wait for the areola tatoo until after holidays to give everything time to settle. My ps made them uber size to hopefully leave some projection.
I just never felt complete just my own feeling. Definitely a personal decision and probably with be laughing when I have constant headlights now haha.
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I had my surgery last Friday- going for the "unveiling" and removal of the protective tube today. nervous!
They did a lift on the other side too (I'm a uni) and that seems to be doing okay. That side hurts a lot without vicodin so I am just staying on it right now, I got the week off work since I need the pain pills temporarily. The nipple on the lift side is still quite sensitive so I am glad they did not cut too many nerves, I hd been quite worried about that.
The skin graft donor site under my arm is sore too, but it is early still.
All is healing well as far as I can tell. lots of steri-strips still on the incisions. The end of the graft that i can see looks pink, I THINK that is a good thing. I hope.
Hugs
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Hi Science gal! So good to hear from you. Glad you have a good plan for pain management. How does your 'donor site' look? A flat scar? A sort of puncture mark? I just have no idea how they do that. So glad you are having some good news. And can't wait to hear about your unveiling.0 -
sciencegal, you are dealing with what my fear is. I am a uni and my doctor wants to do a lift on the natural side at time of exchange and I am worried about the pain, then having pain on both sides instead of the one. Of course, doctors prefer you use the word discomfort instead of pain. So, in truth, would you say the lift side is in pain or discomfort? I'm not doing a nipple, so not concerned with that, I'm just worried about the lift.
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Angelia50---I had a lift and augment on the native side at the time of my exchange surgery. It really was just discomfort for me. I had it done on a Tues and by Sat I was off pain meds and feeling pretty good. Much easier than mx!! You'll have bouts of shooting pains thru the nip on the lift side due to nerves regenerating but they are quick and more annoying than anything else. Just watch for those spitting sutures that for some reason only plagued me on the lift side!
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lala1, thank you for that god review. I am 58 and PS says he cannot make a reconstructed breast look like a 58 year old one but he can make the old one look close to the new one. I see his point. I'm not sure I really care if they match but I do care if they don't match in clothes. Right now, I'm having issues with the new one being higher than the old one. You can pad one thats smaller but its hard to hide one that sits up higher. Man, I am so ready for this to all just be over. I'm thinking I should have just not even stated reconstruction. I know I will be glad when its all said and done but man, what a drawn out process.
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Angelia50---I'm not sure how far out from surgery you are but be sure to give it plenty of time. I was still "high and round" on my mx side up to 6 months or so after EX surgery. It's still higher and rounder a year and a half later. It is quite the process. When you start, you don't realize just how time consuming it is! It's like rush, rush, rush to surgery, then sit and wait to expand. Then rush, rush, rush to surgery again for implant then wait for it to drop and fluff. Then it's nip recon time and waiting again for it to settle. Then off for tats which is about the only immediate gratification you get in this whole damn process!! But don't be anxious to finish. That was actually a hard time for me....when all the attention from docs focusing soley on you suddenly stops. Then you're left wondering if you got the license plate of the truck that just hit you!! For me, that's when I really started to focus on me. I started going to the gym, getting massages, trying out acupuncture, doing a little bra shopping, trying to change my eating habits (hell, reading lables alone can take up most of your day!!) Remember to stop and take care of yourself. Once you get through the mastectomy, the rest is easy peasy in comparison. You'll be very happy you did all this one day. You'll be very proud of yourself. Trust me.
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lala, I had my mastectomy 7/14/2014 and had expander placed at time of surgery. I think fills are done, or so he says, but he waits 3 months after final fill to do exchange. Every time I go, he talks about the lift and every time I say I'm not sure and he always says, I'm just sayin. I know the expander is overfilled and thats why its so high right now, I hope and assume, the implant won't be like this. I can see if I did have the lift, the are almost a matching set, which is really all I want. I don't know if I will do the tats, I haven't seen anybody say they know of anybody in my area that does the 3D and really, I think I'll be fine without that step. My goal is just to look normal in clothes. Mentally, even with the TE, I am happier than I think I would have been to have looked down at nothing every day and to have had to deal with always having to keep up with something in the bra. I just am not looking forward to another surgery.
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ok i am 7 months out from exchange in left & reduction in right & my left has sagged a little but so has my right! so the left is still high & hard & the left soft & droopy - so the new PS, along with the graft nipple/areola wants to do another little lift to the right.
personally i don't think they will ever match - which was the fairy tale they sold you in the beginning - I mean, they're totally two different makeups - one is expanded muscle & implant & the other is breast tissue.
the right side was reduced & the nipple was made smaller & relocated to match the new size - I will tell you that side has no pain whatsoever any more. Sometimes the nipple is itchy - don't know why that is
the mastectomy/TE side however is still painful - the area above hurts - my expander was high & i have to think i'm still recovering from the trauma of having that thing shoved & sewn into me at the time when you're raw from the surgery. I also still have pain underneath & under my arm - I have some scar tissue from Rads. This is all apart from the numbness caused by the lymph removal.
I am reluctant to have the new PS mess with the new "boob" because i'm afraid i will be starting from square one again with recovery but if he can do anything to help with the "discomfort" I am willing to try. I hate to think i will be sleeping with a stuffed animal under my "boob" forever.
I did get some wonderful cami's with built in bra cups from Benchmark that have made a world of difference making it through a work day - they even me out without wearing an uncomfortable bra with inserts. My dream is to look "even" in just a tank top....
it has been a difficult & painful journey - but I too would rather look down & see some cleavage
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notbuying it, sorry to hear things have not gone well. I was lucky with mastectomy in that I really had very little problem with my arm. My incision from lymph nodes wasn't really under my arm but was more on the side, about where your bra would be and that incision was painful. My doctor said it was deep and that was why it was painful. The main pain I had from any of it, other than that lymph node incision, was that pinch from the tissue expanders. At first, ever time I would bend over, it felt as if I was being stabbed. I thought it was the drains and when they took them out and it was still pinching, thats when I figured out it was never the drains. The mastectomy incision was never painful. So, the exchange incision will be too low to be in the numb area, so guess it will hurt and the lift side, just sounds painful to hear and the youtube looked painful.
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just trying to keep it real - right after surgery it looked awful - stitches everywhere - but it's amazing how the body heals - the right side incision is underneath - barely noticeable - and the nipple stitches healed much better than i ever thought they would. The M side scar is across the middle but faded quite a bit after the Rad peel - the nipple recon should disguise it even more.
I just thought the pain would lessen once the expander came out - but that was not the case. Maybe in time?
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Notbuyingit---I also had nonstop pain after my mx and even after exchange. Flexeril was one thing that made my life bearable. I would split my pills and take half a pill 3 times a day. It kept me on an even level of drugs without making me too loopy. I continued on that until about 2 months after exchange, then weaned off. Another big help was compression. I still, to this day, cannot go without compression. That is the only thing that gave me my life back. I wear a bra 24/7. Can't wear underwire as it hurts the drain site so I wear the Bali 3488 (which is like a sports bra) all day and still sleep in my mx bras that hook up the front. If I could wear an underwire bra, I think I'd finally be happy. But the Bali is really comfy so I just live with it.
I saw my PS last month for my 6 month checkup. I am 18 months from ex. This is my first visit with him since I got my nip tat in June. He was really impressed with it all. I mentioned that I see about an inch difference in droop between the 2 and he said if I wanted, he would give me another small lift, but he really didn't think I should do it. He said in about 5 years I might start to see a difference even in clothes and I might want to lift then. But in the meantime, I am even in clothes so I'm sticking with what I've got. My lift side doesn't hurt. My mx side get muscle spasms every once in a while but doing arm stretches the PT showed me helps with that. The PT said if I didn't exercise/stretch that side every day, I would start to have pain again. I now try to circuit train a couple of times a week, swim breast stroke sometimes and walk on the treadmill as much as possible. Massage therapy was another life saver for me as well. Keeping the pain at bay is a lifetime committment now. It will help keep you from getting lymphadema or cording and will help with all the tweaks and twitches that come from moving that pec muscle around. If you are still having pain 7 months after surgery, you might want to think about doing some alternative treatments. Some sporadic pain is normal but constant hard pain isn't.
Angelia50---I didn't realize that you hadn't gone through exchange yet. That expander is a real pain huh?! Half a basketball stuck to your chest makes is pretty hard to get the clothes right. But this too shall pass and when it's time for exchange go look at some pictures of unis and maybe even some pictures of women who've just had a cosmetic breast lift. That might help you decide.
My PS emailed me my before mx/after mx pictures. I'm going to put them on my page in the picture forum if anyone wants to look.
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Hi everyone, thanks for your input. I am still having pain on the lift side but it is getting less. when I went in yesterday to have all the steristrips taken off they realized I am allergic to steristrips! So I have some blisters around the stitches- probably adds to my pain.
My areola on that side (the lift side) is about half of the size that it used to be, so I imagine they cut through a lot of nerves. I am okay on pain pills though- this is nothing like the mastectomy pain.
The donor site is less sore- it is a big straight scar down on my side under the arm. They took out a crescent of tissue to use-it is tighter there now (grossly I kind of wish I had some photos of this patchwork job while they were doing it! But I am a scientist after all - I like that stuff).
And already, I am happy with the "match" in height of the breasts and nipple placements.
I would do it again, for sure!
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The decision to reconstruct or not is very personal. There is no “right way” to approach mastectomy and reconstruction (or lack of it). There is only the way that is best for you, your preferences, and your healing.
We are looking to hear your stories and/or quotes on this topic. What is the experience of your diagnosis, treatment, and reconstruction process? What helped guide you in your decision, and select the option that was best for you? What were your feelings leading up to reconstruction, if you chose that route, and how have you felt since the surgery? If you opted against reconstruction, have you been satisfied with that decision, and what led you to that choice? Your experiences will help others newly diagnosed get through their journeys - do you have any advice for those considering reconstruction, or deciding not to reconstruct?
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I am getting my nipple reconstruction on Thursday. What can I expects? Thx!
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I had my nips done at the time of the exchange. My PS kind of twirled the skin and stitched at the BMX incision site. He said no special after-care was needed, and he took the stitches out two weeks later. I went back a few days ago for tattoo/pigment, and I'm pleased with how they look.
Lorbgoo, are you having skin grafts or the "twirly" procedure?
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I had DIEP in March and stage 2 the end of July. Will nips get any smaller than now? PS said he could reduce size if I want because they appreciate still huge. Is this normal?
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thanks Janet. I believe I am getting the twirly one. My PS said I would have to wear sponge type things in for the first 2 weeks.
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Hi everyone.
My PS does a graft either from a small tummy incision (will this look horrible?-he says its like a small c-section scar) or from a groin graft (which sounds miserable too).
I did have radiation on one side, and he feels a graft will yield better results than an origami procedure, which sounds MUCH better to me!!
How difficult is the recovery? Would you choose tummy or groin?
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Geewhiz - I had a skin graft for mine, taken from the crease of my leg/abdomen. The scar sits right at my pantie line, and is NOT noticeable to me on a daily basis, which I love, as so many of my other scars are noticeable daily. My nipple from this graft did wonderful on my rads side. The scar on my leg was tight for a few weeks, as the skin stretched, but otherwise no issues. Hope this helps!
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