Case-4889 Gallery

Before and after right areola reconstruction using medical tattoo.  This patient had a TRAM flap breast reconstruction several years ago, with a free nipple graft and tattoo for the right nipple and areola.  While the nipple graft healed well and held up over 15 years, the tattoo gradually faded to a barely perceptible shade.

Medical tattoo using our favorite pigment, “Flesh #2.5”, created a more normal colored areola.  Advances have been made over the last decade with medical pigments.  You can see that the uptake of the pigment is not always uniform, especially in an area of old scars.

This patient is a candidate for three dimensional (3D) tattooing to further fill in pigment and create the appearance of more depth and better symmetry with the contralateral areola.