Nipples or no nipples??

Smitty333

I have a app. with my surgeon coming up. We discussed if I would like to have reconstructed nipples at my last visit and I was just not sure. After my mast. I was pretty set on not getting them. But as time goes on I feel like it my help with the emotional healing of it all. I am 36 and I cant help but think that my husband may be less attracted to me with my foobs. I am sure it is not the case but it is how I feel. Do most woman choose not to get them? I cant talk about this with my friends. I do not think they get it. I know they do tattoos. I fully plan to have that done. Just not sure about the reconstruction first. Thanks ladies.

Jaime

Morwenna

I can't decide either.

I plan to get some temporary tattoos to experiment with anyway.

I do like the soft round profile, and not having to wear a bra, and am worried about the "headlights-on" appearance of newly constructed nipples ..... then I'm worried about them flattening out (go figure!), or worse, only ONE flattening out!

Can't make up my mind.......

Smitty333

I agree! I love the no "headlights" as well. I had not thought about the flattening out. Temporary tattoo is a great idea! I will have to do that. I have a gal in town that I befriended during this process and she had the same surgeon as I did. He gave her nipple tattoos.. They turned out ok but not realistic really at all and have faded a lot in just a couple months. We talked about taking a trip to see the famous nipple tattoo artist Vinnie together. He is in Maine and we are in Nebraska. Would be a long trip for nipples. But geez how many times in our life do we get nipples?? ;

Morwenna

http://cancervictory.com/products-page/product-cat...

Take a look

hummingbirdlover

I'm trying to decide as well. I think I'm leaning towards no nips because a) it's yet another surgery and b) the thought of being able to go bra less is appealing. I didn't know about the temporary ones, thanks for sharing that link

AnotherLifeExperience

I am in the no nip category. I always hated mine and would wear siliconeprivacy shields in my bra (mine were large and I found them embarrassing). Even though my surgeon said he could save mine, I told him to throw them out. I do not miss them at all.

angelia50

Morwenna, thank you for posting that. I have often wandered if there was such a thing out there. I just did exchange in December and I do not plan to have nipples but I have said if there was a 3 D near me, I think I would do that. This might be a chance to see something similar to what the 3D would look like.

Smitty333

Thanks for the link! I actually just ordered some off Amazon. $1.95!

Smitty333

I agree with the 3d. I would not want regular tattoos.

trailrose

I have made the decision to get 3 D nipple/areola tattoos. As far as reconstructed nipples I don't want to go under anesthesia for a 3rd time and nor do I want the headlights on at all times!

Morwenna

Somebody needs to come on here and comment on nipple reconstruction that they have actually had done ...... good and/or bad!

I have met women who just felt that it "completed" them, and are reportedly extremely happy with the results!

Morwenna

Do you think it is possible to get the tatts, ..... and then do the surgical reconstruction afterwards if you decide that you do want it after all?

Smitty333

That is a great idea. I will ask my surgeon. i think that idea makes the most sense.

angelia50

I never realized you could order those. Now that I saw this, there are tons online, even have them on ebay. I'm going to order some just to see how they look, nothing to loose, guess I've already lost all there is at this point. I'm a uni, so don't think I can match them up but looks better than that blank expression. There is a youtube with one brand, they show them applying and it does look better than nothing.

Finallyme53

I am very interested in gearing from some women who have had tattooing or reconstructed nipples as well. I just started the expansion phase but really would like to know what kind of experiences women have had, and what their partners think about the issue. Maybe we should mention this on other threads to see if we can get some posts here.

BayouBabe

Good evening ladies! I was able to spare one nipple and had the other reconstructed. I am very happy with my results! My PS is a perfectionist, so the match is quite amazing. I do not always have that "headlights on" look. My reconstructed nip is soft enough to be barely visible under a shirt braless, but I do not look cold. The mental healing that occured for me after getting the new nip was amazing. I felt "whole again", if this makes sense. I traveled to Vinnie's shop in Maryland and Paul Bessette, who works with Vinnie, did my nip tat (the match on the tat to my natural side is amazing). I am extremely happy and content with my recon choices.

Smitty333

Thanks so much for sharing. Its nice to hear from both sides and it seems like there are not as many that have reconstructed. I am hoping that my surgeon has some pictures of nips he has done. I have seen some great ones on the internet and some not so good ones. That's awesome that you went to Vinny and his guys. I was wrong on the location. My hope is to go there

BayouBabe

It is worth the expense to travel to Vinnie, Paul, or Trent in Maryland. The deciding factor for me was a woman in my support group. She had her tat done in her PS office. Within a year it had completely faded away. PS tats are done with cosmetic ink, which is prone to fading. Vinnie, Paul, and Trent's tats are done with permanent tattoo ink. I did not want to have this done over and over again through the years. I needed it to be done once and for all. Forgot to mention before, my nip was from a skin graft from my hip. I think this is what has helped mine not flatten away to nothing. It is new "extra" skin, not skin from my chest that is "stretched" and thus wants to go "back" to its original location.

Smitty333

Great information. Thanks a lot. I now have some questions I can go to my PS with. I really appreciate it.

ironmagnolia

Chiming in here as one who has had nipple recon. I had BMX and DIEP flaps, my PS took skin from my abdomen, grafted it on my new breasts and then made nipples 6 months later. I told him that I was used to flat nipples and did not want large nipples with "headlights" on all the time. He said, "So you just want little nubbins then?" in his cute very British accent. LOL!! YES!! Little nubbins! And that is exactly what he gave me.

My nipples are small, very soft, and are only slightly noticeable through a tight top and ONLY when I am braless. I'm going to see Vinnie in May for tattoos because I was concerned that my PS office would only give me "pink circles". After all I've been through, I wanted to look not only complete, but damn GOOD!

bren3

I was just down to Maryland last month to see Vinnie! I absolutely love the tattoos and it is amazing how real they look....you actually feel the urge to try and touch them when you see them. I chose tattoos because I didn't want anymore surgeries, nipple reconstruction can fail, and didn't want headlights at all. I really feel completed by this and the tattoos draw the eye away from the scars. If you have any questions please message me.

Brenda

Janetanned

Three years ago I had a BMX with immediate DIEP reconstruction.  This surgery left me with oval shaped scars, actually more like a lollipop with a straight line pointing towards my armpits.  I also had 'dog ears' at the end of the abdominal scar.  Last year I had my surgeon clean up the scar tissue, fix the dog ears and make nipples.  He did a terrific job.  When pulling the skin together to make origami nipples, he reduced the circumference of the oval part of the scars.  The nipples themselves fit my breast size perfectly.  While protruding at first, they settled down nicely.  In a tee shirt with no bra, there is a suggestion of a nipple.  No headlights, but a very slight mound. 

This summer I went to the micropigmentation specialist at the PS office to have tattoos.  She did a terrific job!  She  used the scar to define my areolas and incorporated the scars into the design. My husband thought the scars had faded.  While not really a 3d tattoo, she gave enough texture and variation in color to add dimension to my new nipples.  The tats have not faded, but she did offer to do a touch up (free) in a year if necessary.  And she charged less than half of what Vinnie does.

I am very pleased with the whole process. I am glad I did it!

farmerlucy

This is a bit off topic but I have seen a tattoo artist mentioned somewhere on these boards who pigments the scars to blend in with the skin. It was quite nice. I got Vinnie's 17 months ago and they look as good as the day he did them. Definitely worth the trip!

doxie

My PS reconstructed a nipple to match my natural one. I had an LX that removed a large section of tissue with the nipple, so the area is a little concave. She used the origami technique and tattooed the areola. This gave a little lift and firming to the nipple and tidied the scars.

My natural nipple is "on" much more than the constructed one. Part of that is the dip from lost tissue. I should have had fat transfer, but didn't want a more complex surgery at the time. If it bothers me in another year, I might.

She did a very good job matching the nipple color, which has to be very difficult. She used tattoo ink, so it is fading very slowly and is still a little darker than the other after almost two years. What I don't like is that she made the areola too large and the color is splotchy. She did it all in one surgery, which surprised and pleased me. It was great to sleep through the whole thing. But I think she might have done a better job if in two stages.

So I am thinking of going for a touch up to Jeff in Chicago who does 3D tattoos nipples at Northwestern. He also works out of a local parlor. One of the gals on the Illinois Women with BC thread used him at Northwestern. I think the cost was $300. My RO isn't crazy about me going to the parlor, he'd rather I go to Northwestern because of the radiation. I had mild issues with localized infection after the nipple surgery which was likely directly caused by the radiated tissue. And I have chest LE, so that's a complication also.

Smitty333

ironmagnolia I love your thought about looking damn good! Why not?? Right! I had a skin sparring mastectomy, but had 3 previous lumpectomies before hand. So my left breast is a real mess of scars. They are really thick and red. I kind of feel like I should start with them. Maybe scar tattoo?. If I could get flatter, soft nubbies as well that would be great!

Smitty333

Thank you Brenda. Did you have anything done with your scars? Does Vinny do any scar tattooing?

Finallyme53

I am going to have to find a Vinnie in Canada!

Arlenrch

I just had nipple reconstruction last week. The nipples are very large and I was told by my Dr to try and keep the nipples "up" so they wouldn't flatten. I called several medical supply store's but could not find anything that was made for nipple reconstruction. I went to Wal-Mart in the nursing section and.found contact nipple shields. using the shield along with gauze and tape seem to help but now I have to go back to work and I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I still don't think nipple reconstruction is all that great.

GG27

I had bilateral nipple recon and then tattooing. I didn't have surgery, it was done in an OR, but I was only given local & I chatted with my PS while I watched him at work. I can't recall what it's called, but they don't take skin from anywhere else, it's like a little flap procedure. I was told to smear Polysporin on them at least a couple of times a day until the stitches dissolved.

I didn't like having "Barbie" breasts, I wanted to be able to look in the mirror & not think about BC. They were very large for the first month (I was horrified but he told me they would be big & not to worry they would be the right size) I used several thicknesses of gauze which I cut a hole in the centre, this was the only time I wore a bra after recon, just to hold the gauze & Polysporin in place while they healed. After a few months I had the tattooing done. I don't have headlights, they are just a slight bump. I am glad I had it done. Good luck with your decisions. GG