Should I request additional appointments if I have no feeling in my breast 5 years after surgery?

Hi & thanks for your question!
It would be a good idea to have your surgeon take at look at make sure everything is okay.
The 5 & 10 year mark is a good time to see your surgeon. Best wishes!

Every breast procedure carries the risk of loosing sensation. It will not return at this point. However, it is good to be checked yearly and to have an ultrasound or mammagram at least every 3 years in the first 10 years.

If one has diminished feeling in the breast five years following surgery, it is unlikely that sensation will completely return as a was preoperatively. It still may improve but it is unusual for it to go back to normal. There are other reasons to have your breasts examined, obviously for early cancer detection being the most important. Other reasons would be to detect implant rupture if one has silicone gel implants in particular. Saline ruptures are usually pretty obvious. Your surgeon can detail to you the FDA recommendations depending on the type of implants that you have. Self exam is also important in detection of early cancers in addition to screening imaging as recommended by your physicians. It is also important to know that if sensation does not detect heat, one must be very careful to avoid burning the skin with hot objects such as stoves or curling irons.