Breast Reduction Gone Bad Question

I'm sorry to say but this is really stupid. The fact that he removed you nipples I mean. It is true that the nipple and areola are removed from the skin during such surgery but they are placed afterwards. Your doctor not placing your nipple back is definetly wrong...I believe you can sue him for that. It is not professional.

Furthermore he is not allowed to do anything without your approval unless it is a life threatening situation. And it wasn't in your case. What? What if he had done a mastectomy? Would he have motivated that he felt like doing that? Maybe he was tired and wanted to go home early? This can't be. You can't allow that. Talk to him and ask for reasons to why he has done this. Sue him if not and with the money go to a real doctor and try to have your nipples made. I believe it can be done. I just don't know how much you will feel afterwards.

Good luck!

He said that he cut my nipples down during surgery. I went to another Dr. For a second opinion and he told me that "we (plastic surgeons) don't cut down the nipple for any reason. When I told him that my Dr. Did, he again said "no. This is not done". He was no help or comfort at all. He seemed mad that I was even complaining. He said that not everyone is happy and I should be satisfied with what I have. That plastic surgery isn't always perfect and some people just can't be satisfied.

Thank you for all of your suggestions and support.

I'm sorry to hear that. But it is wrong! Ok, so they don't cut down the nipples for any reason..Ok....But what was your doctor's reason??? Why did he consider it to be the best thing at the time? He gave you no reason at all...I'm afraid the doctors' watch each others backs...Because I can't understand otherwise...

Try going back to your doctor and ask for a good reason. Or try going to a third doctor to get an opinion. This is way too twisted. When they do breast surgery they cut the areola and nipple from the skin but they are not completely removed....And then a hole is made in the place where it should be after the skin being stretched and placed back....I can't possibly understand how the nipples became removed...It's stupid.

Seriously, try talking to your doctor and getting a third opinion. And ask about nipple reconstruction.

Good luck!

Wow. I thought mine was bad, sorry. My name is kristina and I am 28 from california. I had a breast reduction 3yrs. Ago and suffered many complications. My surgeon was supposed to remove the nipples during the surgery and re-apply them st the end of the procedure. He claims that 15min. Before surgery I told him to do it keeping the blood flow attached during surgery (which I didn't). I chose the first method sice it had the greatest chance of survival for me. To make a rather long story short. Within the first two weeks I had lost both nipples and my insisian was seperating (about 8in. On one side and 6in. On the other)and much of my remaining tissue was falling out and dying off.

I now have no nipples, no remaining breast tissue, severe pain from the nerve damage, depression and lots of mental issues surounding all of it. I am currently in the middle of a case against the doctor who denies any responsibility, and claims it is because I did not take extra viamin c for the first two weeks after surgery. We are heading to trial this month and although having a financial win would be nice, I just want to make him suffer a little and make him understant and feel helpless like me for just a moment.

I am trully sorry you had to go through all that you have, but it is nice to know that at least I am not completely alone in this. If you do decide to persue this in court, be sure to contact me. I have the best expert witness in california on my side (which I found when my lawyer went off my case for awhile). Even if you are not in california he has handled cases in other states and I am sure he would be interested in your case and would be a possitive addition if you need him.

Once again sorry,
hope to hear from you soon

I'm sorry for all of your bad experiences. I too had problems with a breast reduction. About 4 hours after the surgery, my right breast began blowing up like a balloon. After calling the doctor's office 3 times, they finally agreed I should come back in.

The doctor said he couldn't wait for his anesthesiologist to get back to the office. He needed to open my breast back up asap to relieve the pressure. I can't tell you how horrifying it was. I gushed about a pint of blood when he pulled out the stitches. He said several large blood clots had formed and he needed to redo the surgery.

After about 1 hour of paging his anesthesiologist (who never returned), he called the hospital and told them send one over. (just across the street) the anesthesiologist did not want to put me back to sleep unless I was in the hospital. The plastic surgeon finally talked him into it. I was scared stiff....But way too out of it already to object.

A couple days after he said the blood flow was not good to my nipple and I almost lost it. He wanted to do another surgery immediately to remove it. I said no. I told him that I wanted to wait and that if any more surgery was to be done that I wanted it done in the hospital. The extra day saved my nipple from being removed permanently.

My breasts are still extremely sensitive a year & a half after surgery. The scaring isn't too bad, but when I lift my arm, there is a noticable dent under my breast. They are also mostly numb....Even tho I get terrible itching from nerve damage.

I've contemplated a law suit......Mainly due to the trauma of removing the stitches without anesthesia. And i'm also a cup size smaller than what I asked for. I have also suffered from some depression since.

That sounds awful - i'm so sorry!!! you should definitely try to get some sort of compensation. That Dr. Sounds totally irresponsible.

Hey. I had a breast reduction also. A year and a half ago. They didnt really warn me about the whole nipple process...Well they cut them down, and they completely screwed up my nipples also. One is bigger than the other, the shape is out uneven, and they just look horrible. Im looking ot get mine fixed soon, its just been hard for me to want to undergo another plastic surgery when everythin with my breast reduction went wrong.

Sorry to hear about all these awful stories. I too had a reduction done due to health reasons and it turned out to be awful. I to want to get the problem fixed but am scared now! I have two different size breast now and the nipple thing well I have lost part of one of mine do to an infection I recv. It took me on the third call to get them to see me back at the doctors office telling them that I didnt like I was seeing. I have nipples that point in different directions and I am a hell of alot smaller then what I had asked for. I went from a "ddd" to a "a" on one side and a "b" on the other side.....Talk about depression well that has happened to me ...Someone needs to get these doctors!!!

I had a breast reduction done may 2006. I thought it was going to be the most wonderful thing I had ever done for myself. Boy was I wrong !!!! The surgery it self was bad enough, then to have bad results? My nipples
( though I still have sensation in then) sit extremely high. I ask my Dr. About my nipple placement, and his answer was that I had "bottomed out". I don't know exactly what that means, but a week later he performed additional surgery in his office under local anesthetic and removed a strip of skin( no tissue) to pull the nipples down. Not only would I not get completely numb, but I left his office with almost 90 stitches. The nipples are still all screwed up, and I am very flat. I wanted to be pain free and I am, now it is a mental pain. I look like a freak !!! I am looking into having more surgery (by a different Dr.) to correct this. I hope all goes better this time.

Hello ladies:
i am deeply sorry about what you have been going thru. You will remain in my prayers. I just had my breast reduction about 3 weeks ago. And, I am only 5'0 tall and went from a "ff" to a "d". My breast size turned out good and both my nibbles are still attached. But, I noticed on my right breast that the vertical incision is beginning to separate approx. 1 inch or less. The left breast is healing fabulous. But, I am concerned about the separation. Is this one of the risks??? I wasn't sure??? I am kinda worried. But, overall, I am pleased with the results so far. It was instant relief in my shoulders, neck and back. I was more concerned about my health & well being. If anyone can let me know that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.... Muah

I feel for all of you, I do... But it is our responsibility to find responsible dr's, w/ experience... I made sure I had mine done by one of the best in Ohio.... I do have a separation in my incisions on my boobs one's up to my nipple on the right, left isn't bad. I thought i had an infection turns out I don't eat enough protein... I've never heard of stitches for a reduction, my dr used this glue stuff, which after a month is still on part of my incission that hasn't healed all the way yet.. I am still so sore right now, plus i lifted my daughter so i bet i ripped it open doing that.... My boobs look great but it'll take some getting used to... nipples are supposed to be pointed a bit away, hard to explain what I mean... Mine are kinda round yet a little pointy, but very perky, i hope i can use some scar treatment soon.... Good luck everyone..

i should not have read this i had my reduction 2 weeks ago and do not have much pain i my doctor went through everything with me even down to the removal of the nipple and then reattaching it is this noral that there is not alot of pain ofr could i still be abit numb

I recently had a breast reduction and I have the same things going on.

I was not aware at all that my nipples would be removed. When the procedure was done, the doctor told me that the blood flow was not good to my right nipple. He told me that he was unable to reattach the nipple, and that I only had the one on my left still on! I was furious, and the only thing he said was that he could take it off or leave it there. There was no way to reattach it.

He also told me that there's around a 75% failure rate of these procedures. It's not very safe at all and usually women are not only dissatisfied with the results, they usually bear a large amount of pain afterwards.

I am not happy and I'm currently trying to bring this to court. There is no reason for this. If only they would have told me this stuff beforehand, I would never have had it in the first place. None of this was worth getting my breasts smaller.

I'm so sorry that you ladies have had such a horrible time with your surgeries. I am in the process of having surgery, but I'm trying to collect as much data as I can. I was wondering about the procedure that resulted in the loss of the nipples. Was is a nipple graft reduction? I know that those procedures actually remove the nipple and then reattach it, rather than leaving the pedicle and simply moving it.

I had always wanted to have a breast lift and reduction. I was always larger than my friends and after having kids I was just sagging. I had my first reduction and lift on Tuesday, June 26th. I returned to the dr's office on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and then my doctor left on a 2 week vacation. By July 2nd I knew something was wrong because the incisions began to turn black and hurt. I went to the office for the nurses to evaluate and they said it was normal. I ended up in the ER, on a Saturday, for a bag of antibiotics and a cleaning, all the while the nurses and doctors are talking with my surgeon that is still on vacation. I took pictures with my phone and sent them to my surgeon and nurses and demanded I see another plastic surgeon on Monday morning. I saw a new doctor on Monday, he screamed at my doctor for not coming back and taking care of me. The second surgeon removed the stitches and told be to come back on Thursday for a second surgery. I WAS TERRIFIED. Well I didn't make it to Thursday because Tuesday morning both breasts look like they had exploded. I went in to the see the nurses at the first surgeons office and when they saw me they immediately sent pictures to the doctor and then he finally flew in and did the second surgery on me July 7th. Now I have two different size breasts, horrible scaring and they look ugly. After the second surgery I had a spot under my left breast that didn't close. My doctor said it would heal in about 2-3 months and released me. I went to see my PCP who sent me straight to wound care. I went to wound care for 8 weeks. Then it was determined that I was allergic to the stitches inside me and that had caused more infections and scar tissue. I had steroids that made me gain 30 pounds, 11 rounds of antibiotics and an extra $4,000 in medical bills that I had not anticipated. The surgery was a real dissappointment. I really feel that I should be compensated for the extra expenses.

WOuld you believe the nurses in the surgeons office said,"You don't know how lucky you are that dr----left his vacation to come back and take care of you." Oh PLease! He came back to try and avoid a lawsuit. I had a staph infection and I could have died!

Tammy in Texas City

Has anyone contracted an infection after their breast reduction surgery?