Will I lose sensation in my Nipples?
Some patients lose sensation of the nipple and the skin on the lower part of the breast temporarily after surgery, and some patients actually have increased sensitivity after surgery. For a small percentage of patients, the change is permanent. After my own augmentation surgery, I had decreased feeling for about six months, then increased sensitivity for another few months. After about two years, the sensation returned much closer to normal.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) studied sensation after implants in 2000. Three years after surgery 5-10% of women had increased sensation and 8-10% had decreased sensation. Five years following surgery, 10% of women still had abnormal sensation. *
Changes in sensation are slightly more likely when an incision near the areola is used, when a larger implant is used, and when the implant is placed under the breast tissue instead of under the muscle.
*FDA Breast Implant Consumer Handbook 2004: Local Complications and Reoperations.http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/BreastImplants/ucm064106.htm. Updated May 20, 2009.