Interindividual and Intraindividual Variations of Breast Sensitivity Before and After Breast Reduction

Abstract

Background More than 300,0000 breast plastic surgery procedures are performed annually worldwide, of which more than 100,000 are reduction mammoplasties carried out in the United States. Although most patients tend to be satisfied with the immediate outcomes of this procedure, there is increasing concern among surgeons as well as patients with regard to breast sensibility and the postoperative recovery. The objectives of this study were to assess the variation in the sensibility in patients undergoing hypertrophic breast surgery by quantification of the impact of various variables and to evaluate its progression from before the surgery to between 3 and 6 months and 1 year postoperatively. Methods We carried out a nonrandomized, monocentric, prospective study. All of the patients were examined by the same evaluator using a set of 20 von Frey monofilaments on the day before the surgery and at 3 to 6 months and 1 year postoperatively. The breast skin, areola, and nipple sensibilities were tested. Age, body mass index, tobacco use, and the breast volume were recorded. Results We did not find any significant effect of the body mass index, tobacco use, or age on breast sensibility. The nipple and areola complex (NAC) sensibility was inversely correlated with the degree of hypertrophy before the surgery, but this difference disappeared in the postoperative evaluations. After the surgery, the NAC sensibility decreased at the first follow-up at 4.5 months and returned to normal after 1 year. Conclusions The inverse relationship between breast volume and sensibility in the preoperative evaluation disappeared after mammaplasty reduction. In the early postoperative period, the sensibility decreased on the NAC but returned to normal after 1 year.

Experience of Pain and Unpleasantness during Mammography Screening: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Roles of Emotional, Cognitive, and Personality Factors

“…However, no previous studies of healthy women are available to support this assumption. Studies have mostly explored breast sensitivity in distinct cutaneous areas [54], or after interventions such as mastectomy, implant-based breast reconstruction [55,56], and reduction mammaplasty [57][58][59]. Uncontrolled factors in our study could also account for the greater left breast pain, such as breast size [60,61], or more specifically, left breast size.…”

Impact of Gender-confirming Chest Surgery on Sexual Health: A Prospective Study

“…The sensitivity of the NAC was assessed by the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test, as previously described, 29,30 to provide quantified and repeatable information about NAC sensory recovery and the patient’s detection of touch.…”