My Aeriola Doesn't Look Attached After Mastopexy/ with Silicone Implant (12 Days Ago), is Something Wrong? (photo)

The good news, Stephanie, is that at less than 2 weeks post mastopexy, your breasts and nipples look pretty darn good.  Your surgeon used a pedicle technique, therefore your nipple is attached to a large piece of breast tissue, and no matter what happens at the skin level, your nipple can't fall off.  It is getting it's blood supply and nerve supply from your breast and not the skin, and therefore it cannot turn black or die either.

The redness on the vertical suture line is what's known as a stitch abscess.  This is a dissolvable suture trying to dissolve, but it's too close to the surface.  The redness is an inflammatory process, and the white pus appearing material has all the elements of real pus but no bacteria. 

The apparent rippling at the junction of your nipple and breast skin is due to the suture technique used by your plastic surgeon.  It's kind of like the bunching one would get if one were sewing fabric to get a puffy sleeve.  Your plastic surgeon used this technique since the skin of the breast usually stretches away the areola in the healing process.  Therefore he made the hole in the breast skin where your nipple was brought through and sutured to, slightly smaller than the cookie cutter used to determine the size of the areola.  This will allow the breast skin to stretch and keep the areola the desired size. 

Over the next couple of months, the apparent elevation of the nipple from the breast skin will vanish due to the stretching that always occurs post operatively.  The bunching will disappear and the stitch abscess will cure itself. 

Congratulations.  You picked a good plastic surgeon.  Don't worry.

 

 

This will heal just fine.  Just give it time and keep the area clean as you would with any other scar.  

You are very early in the post operative course.  It looks like you are healing well.  Your nipple should not fall off.  The redness and white drainage is most likely a spitting stitch that your plastic surgeon can take care of in the office.  Please don't try to fix it or explore it at home.  Also, please leave your incisions alone.  Tension and pulling are the enemy of good wound healing.  Please keep your plastic surgeon in the loop.  Together you will get through the healing process.

Rest assured your nipple will not fall off. It appears that you are healing nicely. Slight separation is not a reason for concern at this time. These will be less apparent as weeks go by. It is important to keep wounds clean and dry until you are completely healed to avoid infection. And avoid separating wound with your fingers as you are doing in pictures as this may delay healing. Sleep tight!

Dr. H

Looks pretty good to me for 12 days after augmentation-mastopexy.  You may have a localized stitch abscess developing, which can be easily drained, or minimal cellulitis.  Text your photos to your surgeon for the best diagnostic information and therapeutic recommendation.  Appears to be an excellent closure.

Just appears to be some swelling.  This will resolve on its own without any specific treatment required.  

Incisions take a while to settled down. Things are usually maximally swollen at two weeks, that is perhaps why you feel that things are not healing as you expect.  Give it a few months things will more than likely setlle down.  I fyou are overly concerned, speak to your surgeon.

By the pictures it seems that your healing from the surgery is with in the normal limits. Although it is picture and not real life I can not see any major complication. You should follow with your surgeon as soon as possible.

 

Good luck

Thank you for the question.

Go ahead and “sleep easy”;  I do not think you are at risk for your “nipples falling off”. Worse case scenario, you have a superficial stitch issue which can be handled easily by your plastic surgeon. Continue to follow-up with him/her for precise advice and treatment.

Best wishes.

You are 12 days after your surgery.  based on your photos, your areola looks pink and healthy.  and your incision looks like its healing well.  So take a deep breath, and relax.   your are doing great.   Remember, you need to give time for all your incisions to heal.  Please check in with your PS to ask about scar massage therapy.  Most surgeons recommend this 4-6 weeks after your surgery.

Best of luck!