"Nerve Pain" 5 Months Post-op Breast Augmentation

Frequently the sensory nerves are injured during surgery. Usually they return to normal quickly. However, occasionally, the nerve fiber is broken (much like breaking the wire inside the insulator of an electric cord). The nerve will regrow from the point of break to the skin. Unfortunately, the fiber may not reach the same point to which it was attached. When a number of fibers become mixed up, the sensation when their area of innervation is touched is a very weird sensation, which can be interpreted as pain.

Nortriptyline and amitriptyline are good drugs to reduce your appreciation of the unusual sensation. The best way to reduce the sensation is to constantly stimulate the area. Eventually the brain relearns the location of the nerve fibers and the sensation returns to normal. When this is very bad, you may have to start with a cotton ball and work up to rougher stimulation. With time and continued stimulation this almost always resolves, though it may take a year or more to totally do so.