http://www.blacksalveinfo.com/internalbs.htm

You are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your journey.

From what I understand, size and protrusion radically decreases by about 50-70% within the first 8 weeks to 18 months. That’s why you need to be very clear with your PS as to what you want at the outset. Mine keeps telling me what most women want. *I* am not most women. So we’ll be having a conversation about my desires for BIG, protruding nipples.

I have read that there are injectables that can keep the nipples protruding. It’s really important to know what you want for your body though. Do you always want to look like you’re a bit cold? Do you want a flatter nipple?

I would suggest having a frank ad open discussion with your PS. If he or she doesn’t give you the answers you what, get a second opinion. I’ll even get you Dr. Elliott’s number if you would like.

I’ve heard they actually put real pearls under the skin in Japan. I know theye can take skin from my inside thigh. But what kind of protrusion can be made?

Thanks!

I am SO proud of you for being such an amazing, stand-up guy for your wife. Thanks for contributing your personal experiences here. I appreciate what you have shared and I know my other readers will appreciate you reaching out and sharing during such a difficult time.

My name is Mark and I am the husband. My wife had a double mastectomy with latissimus flap reconstruction and they were able to save the nipples. The care and skills used were exemplary but in dealing with the after care, I was not prepared or well informed. I am writing on the off chance that anyone looking for some information or solace will end up here as I did.
My wife had all procedures done at one time, 8 hours of surgery, and awoke in the ICU. Despite a morphine drip and additional shots of the same I can only describe her pain as staggering. She is the strongest woman I have ever known when it comes to physical pain and, although everyone is different, she was in absolute agony. The next few couple of days was spent holding her hand and wishing there was some way of taking the pain from her. Frustrating, exhausting and soul destroying and there was nothing I could do except be there every second. Transferring from the ICU to another floor where the nurses had more patient to deal with, getting pain medication and attention was not quite so efficient or forthcoming. On day 3 I took her home. Despite the continued pain and distress she was no longer allowed morphine and was put on oxycodone which barely kept her at pain level 8 (10 being unbearable). We made this decision together because the food sucked, the environment was not conducive to healing and the constant awakening by staff meant no peace at all.
Pain level 8, weak, miserable we got her into the car and home. The pain killers were set for every 4 hours – when you wife is crying and looking at you with eyes that say ‘please help me’…I’m not that strong and when she needed the pain to go away I would give her the pain killers. I never gave her so many that it was dangerous but the bottle we were given dissapeared and I can only thank the stars for the bottle of percocet I had in the closet from a recent dental visit. Those vanished as well.
For any man who’s partner is about to go through this or is currently dealing with post surgical care I would relay these thoughts: be prepared for a tough road. You will have to do everything for her and no matter how compassionate or empathic you may be it will start to drain you. You must get rest or sleep if you can and if you can reel in some help you trust, then do so. Cooking, cleaning, washing, changing the bandages, draining the bottles and stripping the tubes, assisting with bathing and bathroom – all easy. the hardest part is the worry and the stress that sneaks up on you. When she wants to see the scars and sees the back where they cut…I didn’t want her to see because when she first came out of surgery the only word I could think of was ‘butchery’. Be patient. 3 days after and the back was healing up well and the swelling was down 50%. There was always the worry about the skin or the nipples dying and when her left breast was still stone cold 3 days later and began forming blood sack blisters I was terrified but could not let her know of my fears. Although all logic told me that if the breast was dying there would not be sensation (which there was) nor would there be bright red skin with purple and brown from blood and bruising (which there was) I needed to hear her surgeon say everything was fine.
Combined with her inability to sleep more than a couple of hours before waking up in pain and the tightness and swelling and….the list goes on we called the surgeon, expressed our concerns and went back in. Everything was good! RELIEF!. Nothing was dying. New paid meds which I recommend from day one: HYDROMORPHONE 4mg. What a difference. Pain completely manageable and sleeping well – she’s smiling and mobile, no more agony or tears and I can now focus on helping her potter around and get better.
Synopsis: Be strong and when you fell stressed and unable to cope without resentment or being snappy take a break. Step back. You need micro breaks and rest. Once you have your partner to a point of ’stable’ you will find the relief quite substantial, as will she. Her job is to get well and yours is everything else but don’t judge everything from what is immediate – she will heal and get better as the days go by and it will be quicker ans easier for her the more she knows she can rely on you to just be there. Try and imagine her perspective and just be there.

Julie Jordan Brown from Medical Art Resources, Inc in Greenfield, WI was kind enough to give me this url for the people in Naples. http://www.anaplastics.com. David Trainer is the gentleman to contact there. Julie asked me to mention that she sent me to him. Personally I decided to go a different route. I do hope this helps though.

First, calm down and breathe. It’s important right now that you be the strong one and it sounds to me like you’re panicking just a bit. You’ve got to stay calm. It has only been four days since her surgery. Everything looks kind of weird this early. It’s perfectly normal for her back to look lumpy. Mine still looks a little off and I’m 3 and 1/2 months put of surgery.

As for the purple bruising, just keep an eye on it for the time being. At the moment, it’s nothing really to worry about.

Have you talked to her plastic surgeon or her regular doc about the stone cold breast? It’s probably nothing serious but when she has her one week check up, it’s something you need to mention. Make a list of your concerns and make sure to take the list with you.

Her pain level when the meds aren’t kicked in will probably be about a 3-4 on the 1-10 scale (1 is almost no discomfort at all and 10 is the worst pain she’s ever felt). Remember, she has just had HUGE chunks of muscle, fat and skin dragged around UNDER her skin to make the new Twins. Of course she’s going to be hurting some. ESPECIALLY if she’s trying to do anything besides sit and stare at the TV. THAT should be her main occupation for the next month or so.

The area under her arms hurts because the space they dragged the tissue through is about the width of 1 and 1/2 to 2 hands. That area is going to be extremely raw for quite a while.

I do hope her doc has her on some serious pain meds. I was on Oxycodone for the first two weeks and then I went to Percocet for about four weeks. If she’s not, it’s your job to call and get something that DOES work for her. Remember she can’t do anything for herself right now. It’s your job to take care of her. You’re doing great by asking questions and looking for answers here.

I didn’t have the nipple transfer thing like she’s having. I lost both my nipples to necrosis because of the breast augmentation and lift. Maybe one of my other readers can help answer your questions there. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

~Maria~