Should I be scared of recurrence w nipple/skin sparing BMX?

Radical mastectomy is no longer routinely done - that involves scraping all the way down to the chest wall, and is an antiquated procedure. Modified radical is sometimes done but usually with skin involvement or numerous cancerous nodes at the outset. Simple mastectomy is what is now done most often, and skin and nipple sparing mastectomy falls under that category. If this procedure is properly done, your surgeon will core out the area under the nipple and send it for pathology separately from the breast tissue. While your nipple is preserved it is really just a decoration on your skin - not a functional nipple. You need to be a candidate for this surgery - breast size, amount of ptosis or droop, and most importantly the mass must be a distance away from the nipple - much as if you were a lumpectomy candidate and the nipple would remain. There is no additional post-surgical surveillance if you have this procedure, it is the same as a regular mastectomy.

Here is a link that explains the different types of mastectomy:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/brea...

Also, here is some good info specifically regarding nipple sparing mastectomy:

https://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/surgery/bl...

warrior - you're welcome! Best to you as you prepare for surgery, I had this same surgery and found it very comforting to wake up with partially filled expanders and seeing my nipples still there - I had a kind of normal-ish looking situation which reduced the nerves for me going forward

warrior - it's a long story, lol! I also don't want to scare you - I am someone who seems to have complications that are quite unusual. I ended up having a surprise positive sentinel that looked clear in the original surgery, so I had complete axillary dissection five weeks after BMX with additional positive nodes. I had some skin integrity and healing issues which required several re-excisions, and finally expander removal so that I could proceed to chemo. The expander was replaced after chemo was done. I had exchange to implants with no problem. A year later I had fat grafting to fill hollows and make things look softer. A year later I had issues with my allograft slings because I have abnormally thin pectoral muscles. During a repair surgery the previously compromised skin shredded. I had two repair surgeries, one with a smaller implant to try to stress the skin less. That did not work, and the left implant was removed. During the next 18 months I had two fat grafting surgeries to help strengthen the skin. I had a new expander placed this past December, just finished fills, and am scheduled to exchange to a new left implant, a new smaller implant on the right so they match, and additional fat grafting. As I said, this level of complication is highly unusual, so don't think this will happen to you - but it is important to note that complications can occur no matter which type of surgery you have

I had (have, lol!) smooth high profile silicone rounds. Also, when I first had surgery the anatomicals were still In trial and not available from every PS like they are now. I need more upper pole fullness because I have a shorter distance from my neck to breasts, but longer at the breast - the anatomical style would not give me enough fullness at the top, so for my situation rounds are a better choice.That was alsothe reason for the first fat graft surgery, I needed some softness above the implant.

No