Nipple advice needed!

Just throwing this out there ... but did you consider a skin sparing nipple sparing mastectomy? I was so thankful to be able to retain my nipple and areola complex as well as the entire skin pocket. I realize it's not an option for every woman, but sometimes you hear women write after surgery that they'd never heard of any of these options.

Diana

I had done the three d tattooing though a women here where I live and they have faded. I had my areoles tattooed and sm. nipples made yesterday. The doctor mad a sm incision and placed alloderm matrix under to give an illusion of a nipple will see tomorrow when I take the dsg off to shower.

I just had 3D nipple tattoo (Vinnie Myers) on Thursday 8/20 and I am so happy ! They look very real. I was also torn like you - I actually had "origami" nipple recon scheduled twice but had so much anxiety I finally realized I just didn't want to be cut anymore. Then I called & made the Vinnie appointment & never looked back.

After my tattoos were done, I wanted to jump up & click my heels after I walked out the door LOL. I just feel like it's (hopefully) the final "finished stamp" and I can try to start forgetting this whole ordeal.

Sorry for the delayed response Swimmom2 I forgot to re-check this post! I had my Vinnie tats done in Baltimore. This is kinda stupid but I liked the fact that it was at an actual tatoo parlor - so sick of doctors' offices & such!

I'm trying out some fakes from tattoo girls on Amazon. Very cheap $2.46 on prime even.

Trying decide if I'm going for the Vinnies .......can't decide if I want anything else done to me that doesn't have to be done.

I had 'origami' nipples done by my plastic surgeon. During that surgery he also reduced the scar tissue left from DIEP surgery and fixed some 'dog ears' left from the tummy tuck portion of DIEP. He offered to minimize my port scar as well. The nipples have shrunk to a perfect size, just enough to hint at nipples when wearing a t-shirt, but not enough to advertise.

Two summers ago I had a local micro-pigmentation specialist (from PS office) create the areolas. She was fantastic! She added some depth to the color, which gave the 3D look. She was very careful to mix the right color for my skin tone. We experimented with a few different shades until I found the perfect match. She was easy to talk to and very professional. Two years later there has been no fading other than what occurred within the first few days. And she charged half as much as some do. She supplied all of the paperwork needed to submit a claim to the insurance company (which I failed to do). All in all, I am more than satisfied with the results and I didn't need to travel.

Miscraw - Yes it is! That is what I had done! Love mine and so glad I went that route!

For those of you who did nipple recon, did you also do areola recon? I'm leaning toward nipple recon with 3D for areola. Is that common?

What is everyone's opinion on what is the most realistic and long lasting option on getting nipples/ areola?

That's what my ps suggested;) 3d Vinnie's.

Thanks lulu. Has anyone's nipple recon flattened out and was not worth it?

Had a BMX and nipple reconstruction on both. One took and one flattened. Had locally done 3-D tattoos but are fading after three years. Am thinking about having the one that took removed (is small and the PS says it is an easy in-office procedure) and then new tattoos by Vinnie or dragonflyink.com/ in San Francisco.

Back to your questions though, I was happy I did the nipple reconstruction. Just would have been happier if they had turned out the same.

I also had the "origami" local tissue nipple reconstruction. They looked really big at first but went down to their ultimate size and have not flattened. I'm happy with the result. The biggest issue I have had is that they are not "perfectly" placed and that can bother me if I decide to focus on it. They were at first but one has migrated a bit as my chest loosened up. If you do get them, take your time and make sure your chest has stopped moving. Still, I prefer this result to not doing it. I plan to schedule pigmentation shortly.

27heart. I know someone on this site that lives in New Zealand. Her daughter did her tattoos. PM me if you want her name. She said that her tattoos turned out beautiful.

I had some unusual circumstances with a re-do on a lat flap at the same time as VLNT after my nipple recon. As my chest settled my placement is off. It upset me greatly in the beginning when it first showed up but I'm pretty over it right now. I'm showing my doctor in a couple of weeks but I know he will say to leave it alone. I'm waiting for that to book my pigmentation.