Nipple reconstruction anyone?

I had nipple reconstruction surgery in November. I had a BMX where they were able to save one nipple, but found cancer in the nipple on the right side,so it had to be removed. The nipple on the non-cancer side bothered me post-BMX b/c it was too protrusive. Therefore, I wanted it to be toned down and also wanted to restore the nipple that had been removed. My surgeon did nipple sharing so that he took a small amount of tissue from the non-cancer nipple and transferred it to the side that had nipple removed. I actually have my final follow-up with surgeon later this week. I am very pleased with how the donor site appears; in my opinion, it is exactly as I had hoped. I think the side that was transferred to is OK; it is a bit small and nipples are not exactly in same location so I don't think it is perfect, but I suspect perfection is hard to achieve. In general, I am happy with it.

By the way, the surgery is very minor. It was done in the physician's office and only requires a local anisthetic. I was able to drive home afterwards.

I have had nipple reconstruction one was done in November 2015 and the other done August 2016 . I am very Pleased with both ,the Plastic Surgeon was able to match them up well. Both mine were done during other Surgeries and the Plastic Surgeon when you consult with him he will be able to tell you if you may need other work to round out the breast.

I had nipple reconstruction on a radiated breast. You may need to wait a year or so for the tissue to heal before doing the surgery or even the tattoo. I waited over a year and had antibiotics to prevent infection after surgery. I also had a flair of breast lymphedema that took about 6 months to settle.

My reconstruction looks good relative to the amount I had. My tumor was right beside the nipple, so I lost a lot of breast issue along with the nipple in surgery. I didn't request a fat transfer, so it is still flat and, if I lift my arm, concave there. The origami nipple disappears into the flatness. I would have been more successful with a fat transfer. The original tattoo was very dark, but is now faded to nearly the same color of my current nipple, 3.5 years later. My PS did the tattoo at the same time as surgery. I'd suggest getting a tattoo artist to do it instead. In the future I may have mine touched up.

The reconstruction, especially the tattooed areola, was really important to my mental well being. It helped to not see a blank breast in the mirror in the morning. Always an unwanted shock.

Lorri, I had a lift on the left when I had my mx and recon on the right. There is very minimal scarring. mainly, there is a scar sort of outlining my nipple (as they actually move it when they lift) and then one running from nipple down the underside. I actually get keloid scars, but I didn't on that side and they aren't really noticeable. I lost no feeling, and they are in every way like "normal" (except 'perkier' right after the life). That was 14 years ago, so I can confidently tell you the lifted side has aged just like a normal breast. Please do ask if you've got other questions.

Sorry Lorri, I think maybe I got this thread mixed up with one on mastopexy

My PS constructed a nipple for me using cartilage from behind my ear and skin from my upper inner thigh. The initial idea was that I could get a tattoo to darken the created areola, but for whatever reason, the skin itself has remained darker than the surrounding skin and almost perfectly matches the other one. So no tattoo needed. It has sunk a bit over the years (14), but does still protrude. It looks pretty realistic.

Sleeping immediately after the surgery was my only issue, as I had difficulty laying on my back with my head on a pillow if it touched my ear, but couldn't lay on my right side (reconstructed side) or my left (left ear had cartilage harvested).