Hi all. I have a pregnant client who would like to bf. She had breast
reduction surgery when she was 19. She is now 34 - first pregnancy.
Her plastic surgeon told her "not to even try to breastfeed because she
will suffer breast infections due to the state of the milk ducts."
The mother does not have a lot of scar tissue although the nipple was
moved. She claims there is some sensation in the nipple area. The
doctor told her that he "folded"
(I'm translating from Hebrew - maybe "tucked") the milk ducts. He says
he didn't cut them. I've never heard of this before. I am encouraging
her to try nursing even if we need to eventually use an SNS. I'm just
puzzled by this surgical procedure and wonder what will happen if she
suffers from engorgement if the breasts can't be milked properly.
I had something similar happen a few years ago. The mother in that
situation had a bad case of engorgement because she couldn't empty the
breasts. (Mom was burned in an accident as a child and has no nipples.)
Any ideas? Thanks.
Susan Nachman-Srebrnik, IBCLC
Ranana, Israel