title: Long-term experience with nipple-areola tattooing.
abstract: Although nipple-areola tattooing is now a well-accepted step in breast reconstruction, little is known about its long-term effectiveness. A retrospective study of our 6-year experience in tattooing 151 patients was thus carried out. Patients were surveyed regarding color match, satisfaction, and complications. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 75 months (mean, 25.2 months). Fifty-seven percent of respondents said their tattoo looked similar to the normal areola. There were five (3%) infections, one rash, and one slough. Ten percent of tattoos needed a touch-up later to correct for excessive fading. Nearly 60% of tattoos were ultimately lighter than the normal. Eighty-four percent of the tattoos were rated as satisfactory, and 86% of the patients said they would repeat the procedure if given the same choice again. Nipple-areola tattooing done with iron oxide and titanium dioxide pigments thus appears to be a reasonably safe and effective procedure in most patients but may require one or more subsequent touch-ups for appropriate color match.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic Surgery, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20007, USA.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Spear
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arias
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016462:Mammaplasty; D008875:Middle Aged; D009558:Nipples / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013653:Tattooing