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

[Dan123]

Hi Ripley,

I’m not sure about the black scabs, but I’m also suffering from uneven sides. I’m just over 6 weeks post op and I am just starting to see some good changes. Swelling which I didn’t even think was there is slowly going down and my nipples are looking more ‘normal’.

I would recommend that you don’t spend too much time searching around on forums, as I found you don’t really get answers. Many people ask questions about issues they may have after survey, but you never find out if the problem went away, as once the problem is fixed they no longer use the forum!

As doctors always recommend, wait six months to judge your results. I’m sure you will get the results that you want, but if not it can always be fixed.

[George Pope, M.D.]

Ridley,

It sounds like you’re having wound healing issues on that right side.  Hard to tell without photos and/or an exam, but what you are describing sounds like compromise in blood flow to that right nipple/areola area (dark or black, then pink).  You may have lost the superficial layer of skin (epidermis), and when the black epidermis sloughed away there was new pink dermis (and newly grown epidermis) beneath it.  The loss of nipple projection goes along with that.  You should see your surgeon sooner than a month if you need reassurance - no need to wait and worry that long. 

The good news is, you still have pink, healthy tissue there.  And regarding the left side, just wait things out there - may just be swelling of underlying fat, but it could be some asymmetry that will need correction later.
Hope this helps.

Dr. Pope, MD

[Ripley119]

Thank you all kindly for the responses. Apologies if I sounded rude by not replying right away, been trying not to scrutinise my chest too much the last few weeks and just let it do it’s thing.
A bit of an update, I feel like the right side is gradually getting better. The nipple is slowly making itself known again which is great news.
However I feel like the left side is very much unchanged. I really can’t tell if it’s fat that needed getting rid, excess gland that wasn’t removed or just swelling. One thing of note, when I press hard on the nipple, it almost leaves an impression, then slowly goes back to its normal (for now anyway) shape. Does this mean anything?
I have posted a photo this time, not great quality but hopefully you make enough out. Once again, this was gland only, no lipo. I have tensed slightly to exaggerate the left side

Thanks again guys

forgot to mention, i am now 6 weeks post op