Free nipple graft or tattoos?

9lives70

surgeon says free nipple graft would be the only way to save and properly locate my nipples. Not sure I would opt for this over some great 3D or 4D tattoos? I read some of the downsides of free nipple grafts are lack of pigment that can occur, flat nipples with no projection, infection and necrosis. Anyone have this done? Thoughts on one vs the other

ravzari

I had mine grafted back on.

With any graft, infection or necrosis can happen, but you can lower your chances by not smoking (or using any nicotine related products), not using ice (or anything that constricts blood vessels, honestly, grafts need a good blood supply to survive) and avoiding all stimulants (including caffeine) for 4-6 weeks after the graft and being gentle with them for 6 months, which is the minimum 'fully healed' time on them--so no pinching, pulling, etc...of the graft area during that time. It also helps immensely to have a PS who has done that specific graft procedure before; not all have, not even all breast surgeons are familiar with it since it's not all that common outside of specific types of lifts or gender related surgeries.

If you have circulation issues or take medication that causes circulation issues, chances are higher that the grafts will fail. If that's the case for you, it'd likely be better to have them tattooed on instead of grafted, but you can still try a graft if your PS thinks it has a good chance of succeeding.

Mine aren't flat, though that can happen, and do perk up a little if touched or when it's cold. They don't perk up as much as a nipple still attached to the pedicle would, but they do react and you can see tiny little nubs under a t-shirt when it happens.

Hypopigmentation can happen and often does, but can be 'corrected' with tattooing if it's bothersome. If you have pink nipples already, chances are you won't notice, but if yours are tan, brown, or dark brown it's likely to be very noticeable as the spots are bright pink. I have some small areas of hypopigmentation but it doesn't bother me as I plan to tattoo over my whole chest this fall.

Sometimes, they heal a bit oval instead of round but, for me, that's not an issue. Mine are slightly more oval than round and I don't honestly care one bit.

Honestly, the best place to look for what can happen and what's normal healing process for nipple grafts are on FtM top surgery boards, as top surgery (mastectomy with free nipple grafting and some chest recontouring to make it more masculine looking) commonly involves free nipple grafting so there are usually tons of pics, progress pics, 'Is this normal healing?' threads and 'What to expect' threads. That's where I looked when deciding if I wanted to graft or just be without nipples.

Edit: You can see pics (both from around 8 weeks out from initial surgery up to earlier this week; the hypopigmentation is pretty evident) on my RealSelf review: https://www.realself.com/user/2804430