How long does it take to regain feeling in the breasts post reduction?

It is perfectly normal to have temporary breast skin and nipple sensation changes for months after breast reduction. Temporary numbness and/or hypersensitivity is common and to be expected from swelling or pressure around nerves. Nerves take awhile to recover, so expect improvements for up to 1 year after surgery. It would be rare to have any permanent sensation changes persisting after 1 year.

Some discomfort, swelling and discoloration of the #breasts are to be expected for several weeks. The scars at the incision lines typically become reddish and a few weeks after surgery are raised and firm. After a number of months they become pale and soft. After 8-12 months, the scars are relatively inconspicuous. The #nipples and some areas of the skin may be numb or sensitive after surgery. Sensation may return within a few weeks or months, but may be diminished or overly sensitive.In rare circumstances, for
extraordinarily large or bulky breasts, i.e. gigantomastia, for technical
reasons, we sometimes remove the nipples completely and reattach them as “free
grafts”. The sensory nerves are all cut, and even though a certain amount of
sensation returns after healing, it will never be normal and erotic sensation
if present prior to surgery (many of these patients preoperatively do not have
this due to stretch of their nerves) is lost completely.

If you just had surgery, it is common to have some numbness. Often as the swelling goes down the sensation improves.

Many factors contribute to the change in feeling in the breast skin and the nipples after a breast reduction surgery. The skin in certain lower portions for the breast may have less feeling temporarily and the nipple sensation may be less, more or absent. Anatomically the nerves travel from between the ribs to either the breast skin or to the nipple. Depending on the portion of the breast that was removed and the swelling after the procedure, the sensation recovery may take weeks to months. For most women though, the sensation does improve or return completely, so patience is your friend.