Post op worries

[Ripley119]

Hi all

After suffering with puffy nipples for years ( 31 now, noticed them at 16) I opted for surgery, which I had exactly 4 weeks ago, gland only no lipo, make of that what you will but my surgeon didn’t think I needed lipo.
Anyway, after my 1 week check up and dressing was removed, the right nipple/Areola looked positively dead, all scabbed up and black, could not even differentiate the nipple. The scabs eventually fell off leaving very pink skin, however the nipple is yet to come back to life. It’s still flat and doesn’t respond to temperature which is making me worry somewhat. Is this just the nerves still regenerating or is it something more serious to worry about? When my surgeon saw it after 1 week he didn’t seem concerned but didn’t equally explain why it was that way.

My other problem is that the left side is not as flat as the right. There is a small build up of ‘fat’ right below the incision, and when I flex it almost looks like some sort of lump/flap of skin trying to come up and over the nipple. On top of this the nipple also doesn’t seem as flat on this side. Is this just uneven fat deposits and more remaining gland, or could this just still be swelling? I was under the impression the swelling would start to reduce about now.
Hope this all makes sense and thank you so much for you time. I have a follow up in a month with my surgeon but I can’t wait that long.

Regards

[Dr. Schuster]

I'm sorry that your experince has not been what you were expecting. it is imporssible to comment without photos. Based on your description you have some delayed healing and will robably take at least 3-6 months to see te final result. At this point I would advise to follow your surgeon's instructions and continue open lines of communication where you can discuss your concerns.

[Litlriki]

Sorry to hear that your experience hasn't been perfect. Unfortunately, there are often bumps along the road, which can be concerning to patients who are undergoing this procedure one time as opposed to the surgeon, who may perform many of these surgeries. As noted, it sounds like you've had some wound healing issues, but asymmetric swelling is very common this early on, and nipple responsiveness, even in the face of perfect healing, can be variable. I see patients at a week and at six weeks, and there are often minor asymmetries, lumps and bumps and so on that are still apparent at that second visit. Most of those things resolve by the time I see patients back again--six months later. Follow your surgeon's instructions and I hope you'll find your results more satisfying with time.