Nipple reconstruction after mastectomy

[englishabroad]

Hello

After a diagnosis 18 months ago of breast cancer, mastectomy and chemo I am now on the road of reconstruction and am wondering about nipple reconstruction. I have had a diep flap for the reconstruction of the breast mound. I have decided i would like the nipple reconstruction and have to decided if to have a skin graft to reconstruction the areola or to go for tattooing. I was wondering if anyone out there has had experience of either. I think i want to have the tattooing (which is not covered by health insurance and was wondering how much this would cost. In the country i live i have been told it would be about 350 pounds. Any positive or negative feedback would be great on your own experience. And if anyone has had the tattooing do you know the cost? Many thanks

Hi Englishabroad, I had a TRAM flap done some years ago. I had my nipple constructed from a piece of skin taken from my thigh, then had it tatooed.
Personally I found the tatoo the most uncomfortable but I am a bit odd!
I am so pleased with the result I flash my new boob at anyone who wants a look BTW I had all mine done on the NHS.

Hello thanks for the feed back. I am not sure i can face another scar - but maybe they can not reconstruct the nipple unless they have some skin from somewhere else. They are talking about using the skin from the groin which is the same colour (so no tattoo needed). However since starting tamoxifen I am much more hairy down there and I am concerned that I would end up with a hairy breast!

I am very (no was) very hairy and have not got a hairy nipple (lifts t-shirt to inspect) The scar on inner thigh is virtually invisible so only a problem if you are a high kicking dancer. May I ask why you have to pay?
Take care

I love the idea of you checking your breast for hair. I do catch myself looking down and smiling due to my new cleavage. I am not bothered by the sight of a scar. My abdominal scar following reconstruction is hip bone to hip bone. It is just it will feel like another change to my body that I will have to get used to along with the breast changes, the abdo changes, all the drain sites (which still itch a lot). I take a lot of pleasure from running and i wonder how it will feel. or i am just looking for an excuse to limit my next surgery. Following the breast reconstruction i developed an abdominal hernia and so when they are going to do the nipple recon, the surgeon said they will have to open my abdo scar to fix that, then he talked about opening up the top scar of the new breast to correct the shape a little, possibly do some liposuction to collect some fat to fill in a small ridge at the base of the breast, take skin from the groin for the new areola and make the nipple. Then lift the other breast as well. I sat through this consult counting the number of slices and came away thinking that he was perhaps trying to make it all more perfect than it needs to be. I live in Switzerland and health care is paid through insurance. However the health insurance will not cover tattooing but would cover skin graft costs. I think i need to think some more about this. In one sense i think it does not have to be perfect, it is only me and my hubby (and kids) that will see this and in another way - do I go for it and get it the best i possibly can get it looking. ahhhhhh

Didn't realise diep and TRAM flap were that similar I have like you been left with a large abdo hernia it has been repaired twice with Teflon mesh but it has popped again and they are going to try to do a total repair, I must be honest to have the construction done was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Take care