What is nipple reconstruction?
Many breast cancer survivors often get breast reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy. Nipple reconstruction surgery is the final reconstruction phase once your breasts have healed from previous surgeries. The procedure uses your surrounding healthy tissue to rebuild the nipple and areola to match the position, size, shape, texture, colour, and projection of your natural nipple or to match each other if both nipples are being reconstructed. Usually, tissue is taken from the newly created breast, or, in some cases, a skin graft is performed to take tissue from another part of the body.
Types of nipple reconstruction
Different methods are available to reconstruct your nipple. Plastic Surgeon Dr Matt Starr will create a surgical plan that is compatible with your body, health, and aesthetic goals for the procedure. Some of the methods include:
- Skin flap reconstruction
With this technique, small skin flaps are taken from your reconstructed breast, folded, and stitched together to construct a mound that forms your new nipple. The skin is shaped to elevate the nipple compared to the breast mound, using extra fat, skin, or synthetic fillers to help create the new nipple. - Nipple and areola reconstruction
This method is known as the Hammond Flap, where a larger skin flap from your reconstructed breast is used to create both the nipple and areola. It is similar to the skin flap method, the difference being that the areola line is also created during this operation technique. - Nipple sharing / Autologous graft
This method involves removing a section of your nipple from the unaffected breast and grafting that onto your new breast to form a nipple. It is an uncommon method that is rarely performed because of the risk for cancer to return in the unaffected breast tissue.
Remember that each surgery brings individual results. You should discuss your expectations, as well as the risks, of your particular procedure with Dr Matt Starr.
