Nipple Sensation After Superomedial Breast Reduction: A Single Surgeon Study Evaluating Prognostic Factors

Observation of nipple sensation remains an unpredictable goal after female reduction mammaplasty. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with postoperative nipple sensation after breast reduction surgery.

A retrospective, continuous series of women underwent therapeutic reduction mammaplasty by a single surgeon. A Wise pattern superomedial pedicle or free nipple grafting procedure was performed. Patients were examined up to 6 months postoperatively to clarify the associations of 19 factors with postoperative nipple sensation. Univariable and multivariable stepwise logistic regressions were applied for analysis. Significance was set at 0.05.

The electronic medical records of 434 female patients were reviewed. Mean age (SD) was 37.9 (13.0) years, mean body mass index (BMI) (SD) was 35.9 (6.8), and mean reduction weight (SD) was 842.8 (474.1) g for the right breast and 833.4 (469.0) g for the left breast. A Wise pattern superomedial pedicle was used for 848 breasts (98.9%) and free nipple grafting for 9 breasts (1.1%). A total of 662 (78.1%) breasts reduced with the superomedial pedicle maintained or increased nipple sensation, and 2 (22.2%) breasts reduced with free nipple grafting maintained or increased nipple sensation. The multivariable model showed that increasing age and lower BMI were significantly associated with favoring normal or increased postoperative nipple sensation by 3% and 5%, respectively.

Our analysis suggests that age and BMI may potentially influence the preservation of nipple sensation following breast reduction surgery, though these findings require further investigation for definitive conclusions.