Nipples Spitting Sutures

[djdeuce]

i had gyno surgery 12 days ago removing the glands and lypo. after 6 days my drains were removed and i was allowed to shower. quickly my nipple bandages began to peel off and i could see inflammation underneath. i was instructed to take them off and rebandage. i found both nipples were so inflamed it folded over half of my nipple. both nipples have a suture on either side poking out of my skin. i made an appointment and went into the dr office the following day. i was told i have to wait and just keep changing the bandages and later i will have to have a revision surgery. they plan to reaccess it in a week. there is one problem with that though and that is this is an opened wound that is not healing. anyone know what happened here and what my surgeon can do to help me?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

IT doesn't look like invasive infection but certainly the wounds don't look great.  You can't hurt by applying some antibiotic ointment.  Sometimes surgeons use dissolving suture which may stick out at each end of the wound -- they eventually dissolve and fall out.

It looks like the surgeon made additional cuts at 3 and 9 o'clock -- which will leave additional scars.  It also appears that there is a fair amount of tissue remaining, although I don't have a pre-op photo with which to compare.

Keep in close touch with your surgeon.  The priority now is to get the wounds properly healed.
Dr Jacobs

[djdeuce]

thanks for your reply! i've attached a pre-op photo for you. the goal of the surgery was to remove the glands, sculp chest with lipo and do a small lift from the bottom. a dissolving suture was used but they think my body rejected it which caused this problem. the plan so far is to change the bandages 2-3 times daily and use neosporin until healed. then in about 4 months do a revision surgery to take out the scars. do you have any advice for me and my surgeon to minimize the scarring and minimize risk of any deformation look in the end result? thanks again!

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Agree -- it looks more like some allergic reaction to the sutures themselves.  I have seen this -- but only rarely.  Good news is that the sutures dissolve -- and once everything has settled down, you may not need any revision on the scars at all -- but you should wait at least six months for a final decision on that.

Dr Jacobs

[djdeuce]

wow, thanks that is reassuring. from what i have going on here i find it hard to believe i might get out of this without much scarring. i'm also scared i might lose the bottom of my nipples because they are gone right now. u sure u looked at the photos?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Just be patient and apply the antibiotic ointment -- allow your body to heal.

Dr Jacobs

[DrPensler]

I would agree what you need is time.I would also concur the incisions are a bit unusual.

[djdeuce]

thanks! i'll be patient. do you think my nipples are hidden under there or do you think there is risk i might lose the bottom of them? the incisions at 3 and 9 o'clock were explained to me as needed to do a lift and would heal with undetectable scarring. thanks again for your replies, it is helping me a lot.

[djdeuce]

quick update for anyone following with this same issue. i went to see my surgeon today and he told me this happens sometimes and it is mostly my body reacting to the tension on the sutures and not a suture rejection like i thought it might be. it is healing fast and the discharge is slowing down. my dr said he expects this to heal up nicely with very little to no scarring at all. if there is any minimal scar i don't like he says he can very easily cut it out and stitch it up again with a very fast recovery time. i'll keep this thread updated with my improvement so others can see this. i couldn't find any information at all when i was looking. another thing i learned today is the raised line under my nipple is pinched like that by a technique the surgeon uses. there are more sutures underneath which are helping to hold everything in place including the bottom half of my nipple areola. yes, it is under there and will show again once the above heals and sutures dissolve. what a relief