Sore Nipples 2 Years After Breast Augmentation?

Nipple pain after breast augmentation is not uncommon. The same goes for nipple hypersensitivity, loss of nipple sensation or decreased nipple sensitivity, and general pain and tightness in the breasts. Most of the time, these symptoms disappear or improve with time.

If you’ve been experiencing sore nipples 2 years after breast augmentation, however, the problem may be more significant and may require the attention of a plastic surgeon. In this article, we’ll go over the “normal” pain-related symptoms that many patients experience following breast augmentation as well as some issues that may be present if you are still experiencing nipple pain 1 year after breast augmentation or even 2 years out from surgery.

Discomfort After Breast Augmentation Surgery: What’s Normal?

Following breast augmentation, many patients are surprised to experience a wide variety of recovery symptoms. This is why we always advocate for patients to learn as much as they can about the breast augmentation recovery experience before undergoing surgery. Essentially, the more you know going into your procedure, the better off you’ll be as you recover. Knowledge is power.

With that said, whether you know the expected symptoms or you don’t, it can still be odd to experience the following — all of which are totally normal symptoms as you heal:

Swelling

Swelling is going to occur after any type of invasive cosmetic surgery. When the body is “injured” — even if for a legitimate purpose such as surgery — swelling is the automatic response. your body sends fluid and white blood cells to the traumatized area, causing a buildup of fluid there, as well as tenderness and bruising.

Soreness

Overall breast pain and soreness is usually worst over the first few days of breast surgery recovery. Your breast tissue is damaged and “traumatized” once you undergo breast augmentation, and this can cause pain throughout the area for a short time. (We’ll discuss longterm breast and nipple pain further ahead.)

Sharp Shooting Pains

Sharp nipple pain after breast augmentation is another common symptom. Often, these feelings of pain last for just a millisecond. They are related to the changes your nerves have experienced during and after surgery. Nerves may be moved, stretched, or otherwise affected, causing odd shooting sensations of pain as they heal and readjust. If sharp pain in nipple after breast augmentation lasts for many months or even years, get in touch with your breast augmentation surgeon.

Tightness

Tightness is a very common symptom for breast implant patients. This makes sense as (especially when the breasts are placed beneath the chest muscles), the muscles and breast tissue must be stretched and strained to accommodate the bigger size. Your breasts are getting bigger as a result of the implants, so the tissue around the implants becomes generally tighter as it stretches out.

Hardness

As with tightness, hardness due to the stretching and straining of your muscles, tissue, and skin is quite normal. Many patients say their breasts feel “high and hard”. This is due to disproportionate swelling above the breasts, which causes the breasts to look higher, harder, and larger than they actually will be once fully healed.

Tingling

Tingling is, again, nerve related. As the nerves “wake up” and adjust to the new positioning in your chest, you may feel tingling.

Numbness

Numbness isn’t exactly something you feel. Rather, it is a lack of feeling. The nipples, areolae, or other parts of the breast may feel numb in “patches”. This usually changes and clears up over time so that you eventually regain full sensation.

What if Nipple Pain After Breast Augmentation Lasts for Years?

Longterm breast and nipple pain months after breast augmentation can occur in some patients. It’s not common, but it is possible for soreness and pain to linger.

If you experience pain for one year, two years, or longer, however, you may want to contact your surgeon and ask for some assistance in diagnosing a possible additional problem. Some things that may be causing pain for this long include:

Capsular Contracture

Capsular contracture occurs after some breast surgical procedures involving implants due to abnormal breast augmentation scar tissue formation. Whenever implants are inserted into the breasts, a capsule of scar tissue (or “implant shell”) will form around the implant. Normally, this is a thin, pliable capsule. However, in some patients, a hard, tight capsule may form, and this can cause capsular contracture.

If you have chronic persistent pain from capsular contracture, you may need to have your breast implants removed. Typically, breast implant removal can be followed by breast reconstruction with new implants, a breast lift, or a fat transfer surgical procedure.

Implant Rupture

It is possible for implant ruptures to cause breast and nipple pain. You may also experience changes in breast sensation of the surrounding tissues and other systemic symptoms.

If you have saline implants, you should immediately notice the rupture or leak because your chest wall will appear deflated on the affected side. Your body will simply absorb the saline solution.

You’ll need a physical examination to confirm whether it is a rupture or other factors. If it is a rupture, you’ll need to have your implant removed and possibly replaced.

FAQ: Breast Pain After Breast Augmentation

Can breast implants cause problems years later?

This is rare, but it can happen. Issues such as capsular contracture, breast implant illness or BII, and breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma or BIA-ALCL, (not to be confused with common breast cancer or invasive ductal carcinoma) may rarely develop after several years of having breast implants.

Always choose a board certified plastic surgeon to perform breast augmentation as this will greatly reduce your chances of experiencing any issue with your implants.

Can nipples become more sensitive after breast augmentation?

Yes, in some patients, nipple sensitivity does increase following breast implant surgery. In most cases, the sensitivity will die down with time so that your nipples ultimately feel normal again after several months. In a few patients, however, the sensitivity may linger.

Call to Set Up a Consultation

If you’ve undergone a breast augmentation and are still experiencing pain in your nipples or breasts years out from surgery, be sure to get in touch with a plastic surgeon to have a physical examination.

Board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Smita Ramanadham can help you identify the problem and find a solution. Dr. Ramanadham is one of the leading plastic surgeons in her field. She performs breast augmentation surgery among other plastic surgery procedures at her New Jersey practice. Call today to schedule your consultation.

References

https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/blog/seven-signs-you-need-a-breast-implant-revision