Puffy nipples 5 months post op...is this normal?

[EastCounty]

For those interested in knowing who my surgeon was, please send me a private message and I will tell you. For some reason, I do not feel comfortable saying who it is "in public."

This Wednesday I will be three weeks post-op. All bruising is gone and my incisions are healing really well, as they did before.

My chest is most certainly more flat than it was before. The nipples still get swollen here and there, and there is still residual pain that I feel (for example, when I turn to lay on my stomach in bed), but the pain is minor and I really don't feel it at all most of the time.

When the nipples are swollen, it causes that classic "puffy nipples" look, but even at its current worst, it is better than it was at its former worst. Before, not only would the nipple be puffy but also a radius of skin around the areola. This caused an exceedingly ugly and pointy little "titty," as I would call it. Now, it's primarily only the nipple that gets puffy and most of the area around it stays flat, therefore virtually wiping out that pointy "titty" look.

Other times when the nipple tissue is not swollen but my areolar muscles relax (they seem to be relaxed most of the time) the areola stays much rounder than it did before. Also, my chest still looks quite flat in this scenario. Not 100% perfect, but I think it's kind of stupid to expect 100% perfection from this kind of procedure. We should strive to get things as good as possible, but the operative word is "possible."

I will post some pics Wednesday or thereabouts after I am officially beyond the three-week mark. Again, knock on wood, things appear to be moving in the right direction.

[EastCounty]

I am now one day shy of being 3 weeks after my revision surgery.

Here are some photos I took this morning. Nipple swelling is present, but fairly minimal, at least compared to how bad it is when it's more flared up. First photo is with a flash and the other three are without a flash. My chest definitely looks flatter than it did pre-revision!

[EastCounty]

I am now about 2 months post-op.

For the past several weeks I have had fairly consistent nipple/areola swelling that really gets going about mid-day and lasts until I go to bed. When I first wake up and, for a few hours in the morning, the nipples/areolas stay pretty "calm."

I am not sure how much of that is post-op swelling or my natural tendency to have relaxed areola muscles. I suppose no matter what, I will have that natural muscle relaxation, which does give a puffy/point look, and I will need to learn to live with it. Of course, one hopes that my surgery will mitigate that as much as possible. But I digress...

Here are some 2 month post-op photos. Again, my camera seems to lake lousy pictures when I point it at the mirror. The last pic is with a flash.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Between 4 and 12 weeks after surgery, there is frequently the development of some amount of scar tissue, particularly beneath the areolas. This is manifested by tenderness, tingling and observation of growth which may resemble recurrence of puffy nipples.

One can sometimes massage this but oftentimes it will either resolve by itself or may need an injection of cortisone.

Best to be in touch with your surgeon about this.

Dr Jacobs

[EastCounty]

Dr Jacobs, my nipples are neither tender nor tingly (they feel pretty normal) and I am not sure I feel much scar tissue under the areola. I can surely feel a tiny "nub" of scar tissue where the incisions were made, but that's it.

The puffiness is very soft, even "liquid." Perhaps the nipple is even "floating" above my chest muscles? It is, of course, more pronounced when my areolar muscles are relaxed, which is most of the time. Again, things are always "tighter" in the mornings and, as the day progresses, the relaxed areola muscles are what tend to be normal.

This was the case, also, prior to my revision. I had those pesky relaxed areolas and, because there was residual fat, I still had a pointy/puffy look when things were "loose." My revision was about two months ago. Things are definitely improved but the relaxed areolas persist and that "liquid" feeling other either nipple is there.

I suppose, if I am prone to fairly consistent relaxed areolar muscles, it really doesn't matter if I have had lipo and excision. When they relax, they will become puffy/pointy and there's not a thing I can do about it. I suppose I will just have to learn to live with that...

Anyhow, I am only 2 months post-revision. I hope the coming months bring better results. If it weren't for those damned pointy nipples, my chest would be perfect, I reckon.