Nipple turned black after breast lift/aug and I've been applying sulfadene. Will it heal normal looking? What can I do? (Photo)

Question

My areola and nipple turned black and peeled off. I feel disfigured! I've spent 18K on these surgeries to look this awful! Will this area regenerate areola skin or an ugly scar? What can I do? I really didnt want to have to have another surgery to put a skin graft. I also feel that both breasts are uneven and different shapes. The right looks significantly bigger. I had breast lift/augment surgery on 10/21/2014 I just feel hideous!! He is taking care of me but is this malpractice?

Alejandro Nogueira, MD · Answer

You suffered NAC (nipple areola complex) necrosis and secondary healing of it, unfortunately this is a terrible complication for you, it may happen and is doubtful to tell if your surgeon is to blame or not; I'd point out the extreme tension visible around your areolas due to the massive periareolar skin resection, this massiveness can be seen by the periareolar folds.However, the worst consequence you have is not that necrosis, the most difficult to repair is the non adequate cosmetic resultd you have due to using the sadly popular periareolar mastopexy.The periareolar mastopexy popularized by Benelli and Goes few decades 
ago is the most frustrating novelty and progress in cosmetic surgery 
(followed closely by endoscopy).Essentially these are the flaws of the periareolar mastopexy in the best hands and correctly executed:-flattened breast, "fried egg"-shaped-"sun
 beams" around the areola due to the folds made to encircle a large 
circular edge downsized to a tiny periarolar edge of the wound-overtension of the scar, leading to hypertrophic scarring of awful cosmetic quality, if not keloyd-this overtension enlarges the areolas looking like cookies, furthermor elongated vertically most of times (even necrosis of it due to poor blood flow caused by overtension)-cutting away sking all around the areola leaves the areola in the same place, this means no uplift of NAC at allYou
 are not the first and will not be (unfortunately) the last to become 
victim of the seducing "scar-less" uplift. It is not a matter of finding
 the "best surgeon" to perform it, it is question of finding a surgeon 
who does not practive this technique.I fully believ your solution is converting the periareolar to vertical pattern, shor T or 
full T (other patters in J are acceptable), however you must know it is 
one of the most difficult cut-as-you-go procedures that may exist in 
breast surgery, no rules... no patterns... no sizing... no markings... 
for this technique you really must find the best nearby.

Curtis Wong, MD · Answer

and I'm sorry that you are experiencing this.  You are going to heal and you will have a scar.  As for trying to reconstruction an areola, you will have to discuss that with your surgeon to see what options may be available for you.  Your surgeon should be bending over backwards to help you through this difficult time.  Be patient and heal and then see what your options are.

Nipple turned black after breast lift/aug and I've been applying sulfadene. Will it heal normal looking? What can I do? (Photo)

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Nipple turned black after breast lift/aug and I've been applying sulfadene. Will it heal normal looking? What can I do? (Photo)

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Everything you need to know about Breast Lift with Implants

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