I had Breast Implants 8 months ago. Will the numbness go away after 8 months?

Question

I underwent surgery 8 months ago. I had 425cc gummy bear silicone implant inserted in the infra mammary fold. My incisions are about 1 1/2"-1 3/4" in length. Both breasts since the surgery are numb in a pie shape, the large part at the incision tapering at the nipple. No marked improvement in the last 3 months. Post surgery I had to wear a surgical tape that was glued to my skin and was very tight. My last post op was at 3 months and my surgeon seemed unconcerned with this complaint. Help.

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS · Answer

With breast augmentation, tissues are elevated from their pre-operative anatomic locations, and pockets (spaces for your implants) created, either above or below the muscles. These tissues are previously attached to each other by connective tissue, blood vessels, and nerves, some of which are unavoidably cut in the creation of those pockets.Sensation to the nipple area is provided by the lateral 4th intercostal nerve, and occasionally by branches of the 3rd and 5th. These nerves are the ones that can be cut or damaged in the surgical pocket creation. I believe that axillary incisions can more commonly injure these nerves, since the dissection is from the armpit along the course of these nerves, and can be more easily damaged as dissection is carried down towards the breast from the armpit. Likewise, the final sensory branches of these nerves can be cut by using periareolar incisions, along with bacteria-filled breast ducts.The specific nerve(s) to the nipple, if stretched or damaged during 
surgery, will result in the nipple area on one or both sides being numb.  However, if only irritated, stretched, or partially damaged, they will 
heal and nipple sensation will return. This can take, as you have read 
in other answers, 6, 12, 18, or even up to 24 months to maximally 
recover.If the nerve(s) to the nipple areas are completely cut, then one or both will be permanently numb. This is relatively uncommon, but ranges around 5% overall.Different nerves provide sensation to the rest of the breast skin; these are tiny and branch more, but can still be cut or damaged in the course of making skin incisions or surgically creating implant pockets. The difference is that most of these will heal and recover. You could think of the nerves to the skin as a carpet of moss, but the nerve to the nipple as a vine. The pie-shaped wedge you describe are the tiny skin nerves that usually recover near-completely over 6-12 or rarely more months. If your nipples are specifically numb, that could be permanent, or it might come back if the nerves are still intact, but just partially injured by the surgery. That is why we tell patients nipple sensation can take up to a year or more to recover.The tape had nothing to do with numbness.As Dr. Morgan stated, you doctor may have seemed "unconcerned" simply because there is nothing to do but wait and see what heals and what is permanent as healing progresses over a year or more. You have to understand that whatever occurred did so in the operating room, and there is nothing that can be done now to "uncut" or repair whatever tiny nerve fibers were divided in the performance of your surgery. These nerves are not large structures you can identify and preserve by "more careful" dissection, nor are they color-coded or waving a miniature white flag that says "I'm a good nerve--do not cut me!"There will be no improvement until either damaged nerves heal enough to restore sensation, or enough time has passed to determine that the nerve to the numb area has been irretrievably cut and the numbness is permanent. Fortunately, the brain diminishes the numbness response awareness over time, and other tiny nerves do partially restore "other" sensation. Be patient with yourself, and your surgeon! Best wishes! Dr. Tholen

Stephen T. Greenberg, MD, FACS · Answer

Numbness after a surgical procedure is not an uncommon phenomenon and typically resolves over the course of a few weeks up to one year following your procedure.  In time, the severity of numbness should improve, however, I would recommend that you follow up with your plastic surgeon for evaluation and to better address your concern.  All the best.

Pablo Prichard, MD · Answer

Thank you for your post. In general, most women who have a disturbance in nipple sensation, whether it be less (hypo-sensation), or in some cases too much (hyper-sensation), the sensation goes back to normal with 3-6 months. Occasionally, it can take 1 - 2 years to be normal. Extremely rare, the sensation never goes back to normal. This is extremely rare in augmentation alone, more common in lift or reduction but less with a smaller lift like a crescent lift. Signs that sensation is coming back are needle type sensation at the nipple, itchiness at the nipple, or 'zingers' to the nipple. The number of women that lose sensation is much lower than 10%, closer to 1% in a simple augmentation. In some cases the same occurs with contraction where some women have no contraction and some women have a constant contraction of the nipples. Unfortunately there is no surgical correction for this. Massaging the area can help sensation normalize faster if it is going to normalize, but will not help if the nerve does not recover. In women with hyper-sensitive nipples, this will go away with time in most cases. Usually 3 months or so. In the interim, I have them wear nipple covers or 'pasties' to protect them from rubbing. It is unlikely that down-sizing the implant will cause regaining sensation. Down-sizing the implant may cause saggy breasts, however, and may necessitate a breast lift. Physical therapy with de-sensitivity techniques can help with this issue. The Peri-areolar incision is associated with increased risk of nipple numbness due to the fact that the nerve is in close proximity.Best Wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD

Heather J. Furnas, MD · Answer

As plastic surgeons, we wish the risk of numbness after breast augmentation were zero, but it isn't. Placing breast implants into the breasts stretches all the tissues, including the nerves. The nerves travel along the ribs, then along the sides of the breasts to the skin. With a breast implant in place, the nerves have to suddenly stretch around the new mass. While most patients' nerves recover,in some people that stretching result in numbness. (Cutting the nerve would be more unusual, though small branches are divided with any incision through the skin.)Many of breast reduction patients tell me they have very poor sensation to their nipples, presumably because their breasts were stretched naturally.There are reports of the return of sensation a year or two after surgery (and even longer), but if you no longer have twinges, burning, or pins and needles, your numbness may be permanent. Numbness is a known complication of breast augmentation surgery.

M. Bradley Calobrace, MD, FACS · Answer

Yes it is common for numbness to breasts in the "pie shaped" area you described.  It can take nerves-numbness up to 2 years to return. The incision itself may always have numbness.  Hope this helps

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I had Breast Implants 8 months ago. Will the numbness go away after 8 months?

Answers (6)

Answer: Breast Augmentation Surgery and Numbness

Answer: Breast Augmentation Surgery and Numbness

Answer: Numbness after surgery.

Answer: Numbness after surgery.

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