nipple recon on a radiated foob?

I am all ears on this one. I am just scheduling it now, 6 years out. We were going to add some more grafting (ugh)...but am still waiting to hear for sure what the game plan will be.

Hi,

I am in the same boat, planning to create nipple, on Dec 3rd, along with hopefully some fat grafting to my scar whre it is indented. Had rads.

It is very quiet. ....can definitely hear the crickets.

I didn't have a MX but a partial MX which means I lost my nipple. Basically an LX where the tissue taken was the entire nipple area. Of course I had rads.

I'm older and wanted less invasive nipple reconstruction. I opted for an origami nipple and tattoo. I probably should have gotten a fat transfer to the area because not only did the origami nipple totally flatten, but the area is a little concave because of all the tissue taken in the BC surgery.

I don't mind so much because the areola was more important to get. I am paranoid about more surgery there because that's where my BC was. I don't want scar tissue blocking signs of a recurrence.

I was given antibiotics after surgery but developed infected stitches two weeks later. Be prepared for slow healing on your radiated breast. This is another reason I'm slow to return for more reconstruction.

Hi dancetrancer and Doxie I had Intravenous Vitamin C with my TE surgery and then when I had an implant put in. Had my implant put in OVER my pectoral muscle, no cutting of my muscle at all. Used to get infections after I had fat grafting, twice as a sad matter of fact. Now I get the IV Vitamin C even when I started to get infections because I have become resistant to almost all antibiotics, and that is the only thing that works to clear them. I have had surgery 15 times in the last 3 years. Not cheap to get the intravenous Vitamin C., get it through my Naturopath. It is definitely worth the price, othrwise I would likely wind up in the hospital or some such horrible event.

Also forgot to mention that I have had Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT ), which in combination with fat grafting and Pentoxifylline and Vitamin E has nearly healed my skin of the rad fibrosis damage.

I got a prosthetic nipple made for me which I glue on. Itis madeof silicone and was molded from my other untouched breast. It is good enough that it fooled a doctor I saw, she thought it was real. It is from a site called FeelingWholeAgain.com.

hi dancetrancer,

HBOT was a big help in healing my skin,combined with everything. It is called SOFT TISSUE RADIONECROSIS, it is a Medicare approved diagnosis. Might be available to you if you are ever interested. I got it at a local hospital's wound care center. Got my insurance to pay. It is in hard chamber at 2 atmospheres. Other places have lower pressure softsided chambers.

Good to talk with you too. Love talking with openminded people.

I completed radiation in March (8 months before nipple recon). I just had nipple and areola reconstruction on 12/4. Nipple was built using skin from my breast, areola was built from a skin graft taken from my lower abdomen (just above the hairline). The first few days weren't bad...some discomfort comparable to what I experienced after my partial mastectomy. I had a follow-up appt on 12/9 with the PS. When he removed the cone, my nipple was very dark red, areola was very pale white. He said the nipple doesn't look good. He doesn't think it established an adequate blood supply. There is still hope, but I will probably lose some or all of the projection. On 12/10 it turned black and was almost completely flat. Now all I can do is wait and hope the skin graft heals well. I'm nervous because one half is very pink, but the other half is white with an almost yellow tint. The breast skin around it is kinda red with visible capillaries. I'm trying to be patient and remain optimistic but was really hoping this would be my last surgery. I will be really upset if I need surgery to remove the dead skin. If this heals ok I will NOT try again. I will go with a 3-D tattoo. My next appt is on 12/16.

Hello dancetrancer. Yes I had my nipple reconstructed on Thurs, Dec 3rd, almost 2 weeks ago. It is healing pretty good. I got IV Vitamin C (10 grams ) plus Vancomycin during surgery and was also on Cephalexin. Then I had 3 infusions (50 grams ) of IV Vitamin C over the next week and a half. I was starting to get an infection, with fever and warmth of my breast, so I went back and got those last two IV Vitamin C infusions.Thank goodness for IV Vitamin C being available, otherwise the antibiotics don't seem to work right anymore and I could have had a terrible time with infections again. I get the IV Vitamin C at a Naturopath's office. Insurance doesn't pay for that unfortunately, but when I got really bad infections twice and needed additional surgery, they paid for that. Seems penny wise, pound foolish on the part of the insurance company as IV Vitamin C is considerably cheaper than surgery, not to mention, the toll on my poor body.

My new left nipple has already shrunk somewhat, I want it to stop soon because it is nearly a near match for my other side the way it is now.

Heather323, I am also getting Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy, because of the rad damage causing poor blood supply, which makes healing difficult. I have had 100 HBOT sessions over this past year and a half. My skin is very much improved in texture and appearance, HBOT has clearly made an improvement for me.My insurance pays for the HBOT, except for my deductible. I'm getting it at a wound care center here in north Seattle. Is there any place like that near you?

Awww, geewhiz, sorry that is so sore. I am not uncomfortable, but I can only imagine.Glad to hear, Girlstrong, that you have a good result, you sound fairly pleased with how it turned out. I am still waiting to see how things will turn out. I plan to get 3 D Areola tattooing by Vinnie sometime in the summer.

hi dancetracer, my nipple reconstruction was done with alloderm.