Anyone have any knowledge or post op experience they can share?
I know some that for many here, the reduction of the moobs is the primary consideration and they could care less about loss of sensation, but this is something that concerns me a bit.
I have interviewed a couple of doctors as well as reading the posts from
Dr. Bermant and am wondering about the various techniques used by doctors as to how they relate to nerve damage and the loss of sensation in the nipple.
It seems as though there are several methods to extract fat and glands and am wondering if going through the nipple versus under the nipple increases the likelihood of losing sensation there after the operation?
Risk of nerve injury depends on the problem to be treated, surgical techniques, skill of the surgeon, healing, scars, and other factors. Quite a few of my patients tell me that sensation and areola muscle function is important to them for various reasons. Some injury to the nerves will happen with any surgery. If you don't want to get into a car accident, don't get into a car.
The bigger the gland, the higher the risk that nerves can be injured if trying to remove the gland. Some nerves may go through the gland. Most skim near the surface to the nipple areola complex. A gland closely adherent to the surface and muscle will tend to result in residual puffy nipples unless removed. The remaining gland acts like a cast keeping the areola puffed out. Pealing an extensive gland off the surface has a higher risk than leaving the gland behind. Yet I have removed
massive glands from my tiny areola edge incision and patients have told me they had normal sensation and areola function after surgery!
More extensive surgery such as
Male Mastopexy Chest Lift has higher risk of nerve injury with more tissue sculpture on the inside.
In
Revision Gynecomastia Surgery, anatomy may be altered and nerves in scars are at higher risk of injury.
Ultrasonic liposuction, sharp cutting liposuction cannula, blind remote dissection, cautery, and tissue injury can all increase the risk of nerve damage. I prefer techniques that minimize bruising, swelling, and injury as much as possible such that I can post very early after surgery pictures on my website. When I ask my early healing patients about their sensation, the response is usually "normal" or "almost normal." Long term comments are almost always normal sensation for typical gynecomastia.
Hope this helps,
Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture