Necrotic Nipple (Size of Baseball) Due to Radiation. What Can Done Besides Surgery?

After Double masectomy,(nipple sparing, used alloderm, immediate implants) have nacrotic right nipple and below. (size of baseball) for 16 weeks due to radiation 5 yrs ago. 37th Hyperbaric Chamber appt. tomorrow. What else can be tried? Please help, only thing being offered is surgery to remove implant and nacrotic tissue, wait 6 months, insert expander, wait 6 mos, then try again with no guarantee it won't happen again. No infection. Just dead tissue. Any Ideas?

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1 Doctor Answer | Asked by nwspringers

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Necrotic tissues from XRT

This is one of the known complications associated with radiation followed by mastectomy and reconstruction. If the tissue is truly necrotic, hyperbaric oxygen will not save it and removing the implant, debriding the wound and healing would be the usual approach. Later on, it would be better to use a flap with new blood supply as it would be very ill advised to try another expander after what you have experienced. It just won't work.