Question:
Questions on Breast lifts....

I have a little question concerning breast lifts/reductions etc..... I'd like to know how they actually do this and what happens to the NERVES? Seems to me if you have very sensitive nipples... then after they cut and paste them back on.. then they would be desensitized! Is this TRUE? I want to have this done after I lose all my weight - but I sure don't want to lose that sensitive part of the whole deal... sorry for if this is too much information -- just need to ask SOMEONE! Thanks, TT    — Tammy T. (posted on January 9, 2003)

January 9, 2003
Two years ago, I managed to lose 80 pounds with Meridia and Xenical. It took a year. Anyhow, my reward for losing was a breast lift/reduction. I will be honest and tell you it was the easist and most painless surgery I've had (which include 2 c-sections, gall-bladder removal and knee surgery). I took a couple of pain pills before I left the hospital. I got to the hospital at 8 in the morning and was home by 1:00. Now about the niplets. If anything they are twice as sensitive as they were before the surgery. So sensitive they were hard for the first year, lol. Hell maybe they were hard before the surgery and I just couldn't see them. I have now regained 60 of the 80 pounds I lost and hopefully will be having my WLS by the end of Feb. I may again be hefty, but I got perfect boobs!!
   — lindadougherty

January 9, 2003
I had my breast reduction on december 2nd. of last year(2002) and t went great, the sensitivty is much more greater then it was before my surgery,I am loving my new body, I also had a TT with Muscle Repair at the same time...
   — bikerchic

January 9, 2003
hey Tammy, The new procedures for breast lift are very good and updated. They don't remove the nipples now. They cut around them keeping them attached to the stalk of nerves and ducts that immediately connect to the nipple itself. After they cut and reduce all that they're gonna do, they make a new opening higher up, pull the nipple, stalk and all through the opening and re-attach the nipple. Thus, no sensation damage!!! Yeah, it's amazing what doctors can do if they want to. They do the same thing with the belly button too. To keep from having to create new, UGLY buttons, they will cut it, stalk and all, pull the skin down, make a hole, and re-attach that as well. I'm a nurse and have seen this surgery a bunch and it's just as amazing every time. Good luck!!! Oh, by the way, if your surgeon insists on removing the nipple to lift your breasts, you might want to find a new surgeon, because that means that they haven't been updated with the new procedures, probably haven't kept up with their CEU's and such. Be leary and ask questions. Don't take no for an answer either. They can do these new things if they really value their art of creating new body images for their patients. Again, good luck!!!
   — Leigh G.

January 9, 2003
Just wanted to say the a FNG (free nipple graft)is not the old way ....it is the only way in some casees to movee the nipple.....the (the doc)dttetermine if they can leave the nipple connected to the blood supply based on your size and how many centimeters the have to move the nipple....if they have to move it to far then a FNG it how they have to do it...also you run the risk of loss of sensation even if they do NOT do FNG.....there is a yahoo group called BRAG breast reductuon awarness it is a walth of inf...my personal experices 9i and 4 cousin and my mother have been reduced) each one was different (either a FNG or NOT ) baased on there breast type and how far the nipple had to be relocated NOT becaause the surgeon(S) did not know the new procedure...both procedure have been done the same amount of time ...
   — bekka K.

January 9, 2003
oh adn newlt=y created belly button are sometime cuter then the one you lose.....i lost my belly button to a hrnia >.(3 hernias actuALY) and i love my new belly button it is very brittany lol...its way cuter then my old one!! if anyone want to see my old belly button and my new one e mail...so dont be to worried if you have to have a new one maid rather then saving your old one!!!
   — bekka K.

January 11, 2003
Hi! I had a breast lift and implants done in July. I lost most of the sensation in my left nipple, and none in my right one. My friend had the same surgery done and she didn't lose any sensation in either one. I guess it just depends on the person. I would say I hate the fact that I don't have much feeling in the one side, but my breasts look so much better. I guess it is a risk and a possible trade off. Good luck in making your decision.
   — sheron H.

January 13, 2003
In my case, I'd be more concerned with increased sensitivity. I had a breast biopsy done 5 years ago, (benign), and ever since then, have had excessive sensitivity on that nipple, initially to the point that I was in tears for weeks, returning to the surgeon 2 or 3 times top be checked. Now it is tolerable, but I still wish hubby would pick the right one as his favorite. LOL!!! Also, I have a male friend who has had multiple cysts removed from his breasts, and has been in constant and at times unbearable pain for years. I truly believe the whole thing is chancey, and could go either way. I'm pre-op now, but thinking ahead, and just don't know what I'm going to feel like risking in a year or two.
   — Fixnmyself