Had recon, nipple sparing, but seem to have FOUR nipples now!?!
I feel like as soon as I post this a big white truck may drive up and carry me away, but here goes. Also, TMI on personal info here, so be warned.
I had no primary site, so no tumour really to remove in the breast, but five lymph nodes in right axilla (5 cm and smaller). I waffled between full bilateral mastectomy and modified or partial mastectomy, nipple sparing. Like a super-NEWB I thought nipple-sparing meant sparing the nipple and all its sensations. I'm sure I looked like an idiot when I said that. So the plastic surgeon said it was very important to consider everything when making surgical decisions, and i told her that sensation in my nipples was everything to me. So she invented an option I hadn't heard from the oncology surgeon or her either: A far-ranging lumpectomy on the breast closest to the affected lymph nodes—remember, they were unable to find any primary tumour, so there was no lump in particular to remove—that would remove tons of tissue for pathology, and the same on the opposite breast. I would retain my nipples and their sensation, and i would go from an H/I cup size to a C/D. It seemed like the best of both worlds (since triple negative rarely recurs in the breast, I felt pretty safe).
Had the surgery beginning of June, drains, etc. Both of my nipples have clear incisions all the way around. One nipple is inverted (wasn't before), the other just does NOT look like my nipple: the aureola is smooth and solid coloured, no little bumps or colour variations like before.
The capper—I was trying on new, much smaller bras in a change room, and realized I had never inspected the bumps at the end of the incisions that run from the nipples down the underside of the breast. When I took a deep breath and lifted up the new breast, I saw what looks like a brownish nipple in the thickened bunched skin there! And I checked the other side, and there was one there too!
Am I nuts? I see this surgeon again in four weeks. Never was I told anything about this. Can a surgeon make new nipples and reconnect the nerves? I feel like I'm in an "Alien"-type movie. Please share any thoughts you might have...
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