Yoshimura Kotaro, Wakita Shinichi, Sato Katsujiro, Kaji Nobuyuki, Aiba Emiko, Matsumoto Daisuke, Yamaoka Hisayo, Nagase Takashi
Department of Plastic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, university of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg Hand Surg. 2005;39(2):77-84. doi: 10.1080/02844310410004900.
The problem of postoperative reduction of projecting reconstructed nipples remains to be resolved. To this end we did a clinical study of reconstructing the nipple at the same time as the breast. A tissue-expander was placed under the skin of the breast at the first operation, and then the breast and nipple were reconstructed at the second. A nipple was reconstructed using a dermal-fat flap harvested from the myocutaneous flaps used for reconstruction of the breast. A small hole was made in the corresponding site of the skin of the breast, and the reconstructed nipple was projected through the hole. This method was used in 8 cases. This method is useful in reconstructing a breast without a pad of skin and a projected nipple simultaneously. Its disadvantages are the relatively weak blood supply of the flaps, and difficulty in calculating the position of the nipple. The procedure may be beneficial for selected cases.
