Sunken nipple area and folded incision

[worriedguy]

Hi,

  I am 7 days post op of a bi-lateral mastectomy(gyno. surgery).  The surgery was done by a general surgeon. The surgeon had me wear a tensor bandage for 3 days after the surgery, not a vest like I see many other people have worn. The tensor bandage was tight, uncomfortable and felt like it was slipping down. I had drains that were removed 3 days post op, they both had very little fluid, roughly 2ml/day.
  The problem is that my nipple area seems extremely sunken and at the incision it seems folded under(can't really tell from the pictures). looking at pictures of other people this far after surgery makes me worry because their wounds don't look like mine at all. I have attached pictures but it is mostly covered by steri-strips. Is this normal, can I do anything to help, was the bandage pulling down? any advice would be great.

[Litlriki]

It's really too early to comment on your results. I suspect that if you had the procedure done by a general surgeon, that no liposuction was done.  This doesn't mean you won't have a good result, but generally, I find liposuction critical to get a nice smooth, even outcome.  I'm not sure what all of the steri-strips are covering, so you may need to post photos when those are removed and when you have a few weeks recovery behind you. 

Rick Silverman

[worriedguy]

Thanks for your response. No lipo was done. My surgeon didnt say anything about wearing a compression vest, but I see it's recommended most of the time. Should I be wearing a compression vest or is that just for people who had lipo? I dont have much swelling if any, and there doesn't seem to be any fluid build up. Also, will loosing some body fat later on help flatten out the area?

[DrPensler]

Its early but I would agree with Dr. Silverman. I cannot see much with all the tape and I always use a compression vest and feel its important in the overall care.