Hey guys,
I'm hoping someone on here can put my mind at rest a little! I'm just over 3 weeks post-op and my nipple grafts are worrying me a fair amount. One is still pretty scabbed over and is only just beginning to peel a bit. There is a bit of blood but otherwise looks ok. The other side has half peeled but what is underneath does not look nipple-like. It's like a white/pink mess. Not at all smooth and I cant even see the nipple itself in the centre. Is this remotely normal? I tried to get hold of my surgeon today but no luck.
Dan

That does sound worrisome, but it's hard to tell. Still, I think you should keep trying to get hold of your surgeon. Make it clear to staff that you are having postop complications and need immediate attention.

When was the last time you saw the doc? Do you have a regular sequence of postsurgical checkups?

Hey, thanks for replying. I have been back twice for check ups and was told that all was on track. The scab has come off since then and I'm not due to return to the hospital until the end of this month. I will keep trying to get hold of them though!

It's a week later, so I'm thinking that things must have progressed a bit. How does the nipple look with the scab off? Does it still look discolored and weird?

Sometimes, physical stress or disturbance will cause a scab to start peeling before it is ready (and, okay, people often help that along by picking at the scab, but I don't know whether you have done that), and the tissue underneath looks ugly because you're seeing it before you're supposed to. Also, a small infection or a little gooey buildup can make the wound look completely horrible.

Hard to tell without pictures, and I have no medical training whatsoever. But my general rule is, if you're worried, see the doctor ASAP. So I'm hoping that either you got in to see him/her or the wound started to look better.

Sorry, Ive come into this kinda late.

That actually all sounds about right to me,dont worry

My nipples were scabby, and started peeling and underneath was pink fresh looking skin. It then started to look patchy, reminded me of cow print, the browner skin tone pigment coming in. The brown patches slowly started to spread and cover all the pink and begin to look right. For both nipples to completely look normal, took almost a year, but they  mustve gotten to about 70% by a few months.

I hope this helps.

Daniel, are you just lurking? Let us know how you are.