Numbness after breast implant exchange

Hi, Given your significant capsular contracture, your surgeon undoubtedly had to remove a thick layer of capsule from the undersurface of the skin.  This can be a relatively tedious dissection and there often times there is thermal injury to the sensory nerves to the breast skin and nipple from the... more

There is a small possibility of numbness after any breast surgery and it is higher the more that is done.  Usually it returns well over many months.  You might try massage and B complex vitamins, otherwise time is your best ally. 

Numbness can be seen after almost all cosmetic breast procedures but especially those involving implant placement, rearrangement or removal. The nerve supplying the nipple area is a branch of a sensory nerve running under a rib which makes its way from under the rib to the side of the breast goes in and it... more

Any time that your breasts are operated on, you are taking a risk of altering or loosing sensation to the breast skin or nipple.  Breast procedures that rearrange tissue or remove tissue are at higher risk for loosing sensation.  In your case, it sounds like you had a very firm scar capsule around... more

Hello, If your numbness is from the tissue just being re-arranged, at least some of the sensation should come back. If it is from nerves that were removed with the scar capsules it will not. The process of healing can take weeks to months. See if your surgeon has any information from your surgery to help... more

Sgrizzard:  The numbness is caused by the presence of many tiny nerves coursing through the tissue that was removed in order to treat your prior implant area hardening (capsular contracture).  The treatment requires the surgeon to work beyond the limits of the original breast pocket.  The... more

It sounds like you had very significant contractures which required extensive surgery to remove the scar tissues. Undoubtedly, the sensation nerves were entrapped in the scar tissue and were likely severed during the resection. This is not a "complication" per se, because the whole reason for the surgery was... more

Your numbness is a direct result from the surgery.  Most likely you had a capsulectomy, which is a removal of the thick, hard, scar tissue suruounding the old implants, and resulted in the contracture. During the procedure, the scar tissue is excised, and some tiny nerves that provide sensation to the... more

First of all,there is not much you can do about the numbness so worrying about it is not going to make it go away. You are also fairly soon after your procedure so loss of sensation is expected after repeat operation and takes time to recover. Numbness generally will lessen, not worsen, so be patient. However... more

Hi!   It sounds like you had extensive surgery with a total or sub total capsulectomy (removal of the internal scar tissue).  So it is not surprising that the nerves to the breast skin and to the nipples may have been bruised or stretched.  But they almost always recover and sensation comes... more