Numbness after a mastectomy is a problem that isn’t discussed enough.

A Mastectomy is a major decision. For breasties like Stephanie Stevenson who was diagnosed with DCIS at 38 years old, it can be hard to look beyond breast cancer when you’re making quick treatment decisions. But, as Stephanie said on a recent episode of The Doctor Is In, “There will be life beyond. And you need to consider your life beyond the moment of surgeries and chemotherapy. There will be life beyond that—what do you want that to look like?”

Loss of Sensation is a common side effect of mastectomies, but it’s rarely talked about. During a mastectomy, nerves are cut, which can mean living the rest of your life with a numb or partially numb chest. Women often say they weren’t prepared for how numb they would feel after a mastectomy or how much it would impact their daily lives.

“You feel the difference,” Stephanie says of being able to feel sensation in her breast. “It’s one of those things, you don’t know how bad you miss it until it’s gone. Or you just don’t know how important it was until it’s not there anymore. I’m grateful to have sensation in both [breasts]… It’s less of a reminder of what has been taken [by cancer].”

Why does numbness happen after a mastectomy?

The nerves in our bodies are a lot like cables running from telephone post to telephone post. Our brains and our bodies talk to each other by sending electrical messages through these cables. Those messages tell our muscles to move and tell us when we are experiencing physical sensations like a child’s hand on your chest, the fabric of your clothing against your skin. 

A mastectomy removes breast tissue, including sensory nerves. It’s like cutting the telephone cable— when cut, the electrical signal is interrupted, and the message can’t get through. Nerves work in a similar way. When a sensory nerve is cut, our brain can’t communicate to that area of the body. This feels like partial or complete numbness in your chest. 

Without the ability to detect touch, your chest may feel disconnected from the rest of your body. You might not notice cuts or rashes. Without sensation, your chest can’t detect changes in temperature, increasing the risk for accidental burns like sunburn, heating pad burns, or even burning yourself with a hair straightener. 

Living with chest numbness

If you’ve ever had a tooth pulled or a dental procedure that requires local anesthesia, then you know how numb and strange your mouth can feel for hours afterwards. When the anesthesia finally wears off, you’re relieved to be back to normal.  

It’s hard to imagine what it would be like if the anesthesia never wore off. Numbness in your chest can be this way: but permanent. Unsurprisingly, the loss of breast sensation can be disruptive to body image, intimacy, and quality of life.

Here’s a short video that can help put the loss of sensation in perspective.

Restoring sensation during breast reconstruction is possible

Luckily, living with numbness after mastectomy isn’t the only option. Resensation® is a surgical technique performed at the time of breast reconstruction to reconnect nerves (remember that cable!) that were cut during a mastectomy using a nerve allograft. 

A nerve allograft bridges the gap between two nerves —imagine repairing the cut cable by using an extension cord to fill in the space between the two ends. The nerve allograft acts as an extension cord between two healing nerves. Over time, the nerve fibers can grow back together. With the nerve restored, it can send messages again, providing the possibility of sensation. 

Nerves take time to heal and grow, regenerating at a rate of about 1 millimeter a day. Patients typically start to regain sensation several months after the procedure. Feelings/sensation can continue to develop for up to two years [3]. Each patient’s experience is unique, but some report feelings of zaps, zings or tingles as sensation returns. In Stephanie’s case, she regained sensation gradually. “I do remember that tingly feeling when the numbness wears off. A feeling like Novocaine wearing off.”

In a recent study, women reported that regaining sensation helped them recover and move on from their experience with cancer, mastectomy, and the reconstruction process. It also helped them feel more normal, more like their old selves.

Am I a candidate for Resensation?

Resensation is performed at the same time as breast reconstruction. It can either be performed during an immediate reconstruction (at the same time as the mastectomy) or a delayed reconstruction (months or years after the mastectomy). Resensation may also be an option for those seeking an aesthetic flat closure after mastectomy and for those considering revising a previous implant reconstruction. 

Breast reconstruction is a covered procedure. However, Resensation coverage may vary by insurer. You can reach out to your plastic surgeon’s office to request insurance authorization before your surgery.

We’ve been describing nerves as cables, but in reality, nerves in the breast are closer to the thickness of a single, thin spaghetti noodle. Nerves are small, delicate structures. Not just anyone can perform this surgery—the Resensation procedure requires a plastic surgeon who is trained in repairing blood vessels and nerves using a microscope and microsurgical instruments. 

Numbness after a mastectomy doesn’t have to be the norm. Take it from Dr. Monique Gary: 

“Sensation plays a role in our everyday lives, and we might not realize that we’ll miss it until we don’t have it. Consideration about your sensation should not be an afterthought.” To learn more about Resensation and if it may be right for you, visit Resensation.com. You can view plastic surgeons trained in this technique and schedule a consult to discuss your options. You can also learn more by watching the Resensation episode of The Doctor Is In here and reaching out to TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance ([email protected]) with any questions!

This article was written in partnership with Resensation by Axogen.