Black nipple and dents and ripples

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Hopeful07
Hopeful07 Member Posts: 28
edited May 2016 in Breast Reconstruction

my surgery happened on the 18th, bilateral mastectomy with direct to implant.

I think the surgeons told us the surgery went all well but I just noticed two nights ago that one of my nipples is black and the other one's tip is turned a bit dark too. I have not really looked down there because I was afraid to ( silly I know) and have been in that surgical bra they put on at the hospital. I panicked and thought I had nipple necrosis so contacted my surgeon. He asked me to send photos so I did. And he told me that they look ok, no worries. Is this normal? I mean it's completely black. I think the other one is ok. I have a post op appt this Tuesday so I guess I will know for sure but wanted to see if any of you had any insight on this. Also my breasts have so many dents and ripples which I didn't anticipate. I understand it may take some time to settle but is this also expected? My surgeon did direct to implant over the muscle instead of under. When do breasts start to lookers normal and smooth? My pain is manageable so I am very grateful but am worried about losing nipples or having to do some revisions....

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  • Hopeful07
    Hopeful07 Member Posts: 28
    edited April 2016

    bump

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  • SanFranKitty
    SanFranKitty Member Posts: 145
    edited May 2016

    I am curious to know how it is going for you because I also have a black nipple. Looks normal except for the color. It's weird. Doctor did not panic when he saw it. Even weirder some of the black flaked off. Sorry if tmi.

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  • Hopeful07
    Hopeful07 Member Posts: 28
    edited May 2016

    yeah it's turned some different colors - mixture of black, but pink underneath - a few days ago I saw some blood too from cracking but I'm trying to keep them moist with aquaphor. When I saw my breast surgeon she said it would take about a month to heal, Im supposed to see the plastic surgeon again this Thursday so we will see what they say. I think this is all related to blood supply.

    How is yours doing?

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  • pab
    pab Member Posts: 53
    edited May 2016

    Mine got black too. They do go away. Aquafor is great to use. One made it the other didn't:( but plan on getting a 3D tatoo instead of having the PS make one. Fewer surgeries the better!! Good luck

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  • Mom2Winston
    Mom2Winston Member Posts: 12
    edited May 2016

    I'm just curious, did your direct implant went up in cup size or did you pretty much stayed the same size? I had wanted to go up in sizing but my PS said he couldn't do that with the direct implant so that blood flow doesn't get compromise to the nipples. I was a B before and after. Had my surgery on the 28th and so far so good with no ripples or dents that I can see.

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  • JessieJake
    JessieJake Member Posts: 233
    edited May 2016

    I can only share my experience, but it sure leaves me wondering lots of things....

    During my Nipple sparing BMX, my right nipple did not have good blood flow during surgery. They applied nitro-bid (nitroglycerin in paste form) during surgery to increase blood flow to the nipple. After surgery, they explained this to me and told me I'd be using that nitro-bid for 10 days, but they weren't sure if the nipple would survive. The docs told me to expect it to be darker than my other nipple. I assumed that meant forever. Hopeful07, I was afraid for several days to even peek at my chest so don't feel funny about that! I relied on my DH to tell me what it looked like. It was very dark right away but didn't change. We found this hopeful. Then when I went in at 1 week to have my drains removed, my DH explained he could see a few tiny spots of pinkish color showing. They said that was a good sign. At some point after that I noticed a little flakiness on my right nipple. I pulled and off came a layer of dead dark skin to reveal a normal nipple below. I assumed the top most layer had died off, but the nitro-bid helped establish a blood supply below to keep it alive. Then sometime after that, I noticed my left nipple (which had appeared normal throughout) had a flaky spot. I pulled and off came a layer of skin, very thin as well. `So, maybe it's par for the course to have the top layer do that on nipples, with or without issues during surgery.

    Hopeful07, did I reply to you about this in another thread? I might have... short memory.

    I have over the muscle TEs in right now, they started quick lumpy looking but are smoother now with more fills.

    Hope all is going well..

    Now, I'm going to see if I can find if I did indeed already reply to you!

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  • Hopeful07
    Hopeful07 Member Posts: 28
    edited May 2016

    pab - when did you find out one nipple was not going to make it? I see my ps again this Thursday but was curious. It's been just 3 weeks since surgery.

    Mom2Winston - supposed to be similar size but looks fuller ( I had lost some volume due to breastfeeding until recently). Not sure of the cup size yet I have yet to wear a bra per their instructions since the nipple issue. When does the swelling go away? It seems it's different for everyone.

    JessieJake - thanks much for the detailed response!

    I can see it getting really dry and cracked almost if I don't put aquaphor on to the point of being able to see a tiny bit of blood which made me worry about infection. Did any of you put bacitracin or neosporin?

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  • pab
    pab Member Posts: 53
    edited May 2016

    Seems so long ago already I'm not sure when!(I'm coming up on almost a year!--June 7, '05) my breast surgeon is the one who noticed at maybe my 1 or 2 week appointment that my right one was iffy. I did get some really good cream from my PS to promote healing cuz it was not doing well. I actually had to postpone chemo a week to give it more time to heal. So I'd say prob a good 3-5 weeks we knew it just wasn't there. I wish I took better notes about what all happened!! My aereola still is ok, it has a lot of white skin in it too, but I've been assured that tattooing will be a piece of cake! I hope this helps! I'm now waiting for my implant surgery. Keep us all updated! :)

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  • SanFranKitty
    SanFranKitty Member Posts: 145
    edited May 2016

    Mine is peeling now too. My doctor told me to put neosporin on it. You might want to try that.

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  • Ramonica60
    Ramonica60 Member Posts: 23
    edited May 2016

    I had nipple sparing prophylactic in 5 months ago. The breast surgeon did a nipple delay procedure 7 weeks before the mastectomy and I had diep reconstruction. They also put nitropaste on me the entire time I was in the hospital, but I didn't have to use it upon discharge.I cried in the hospital because the nipple/areola complex looked so bruised/black and bad,

    My nipple areola did survivie,but I lost some pigmentation in the right one and it is also now bigger than the left.

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  • SanFranKitty
    SanFranKitty Member Posts: 145
    edited May 2016

    Sooo. I know this is TMI but it's also on topic. My dead nipple skin fell off yesterday and underneath is a slightly infected but alive nipple. I think it will be okay. I have an appointment tomorrow so they can see the progress etc. I'm glad the black part came off but I just want my wounds to be 100% healed. Yesterday it was one month since surgery. I also can see that I have lost pigment where the black area was.


    Still keeping a bandage on it and applying cream daily. Can't wear anything tight on my chest.

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