This week, Dr. Richard Kline of The Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction answers your questions.

Q: I have scar neuromas as a result of breast reduction surgery. I have been told it is not recommended to have a surgery to excise the neuromas by my pain specialist and breast surgeon. Would it make a big difference if a surgeon who specialized in peripheral nerve surgery did this type of surgery? Thanks for your help.

A: The problems with operating for pain in this situation are potentially several-fold. Firstly, it’s hard to know with certainty that a neuroma is the culprit, although a well-defined area of touch-tenderness is certainly suggestive. Secondly, the neuromas are often too small to be readily seen, so it’s hard to know if you’ve actually gotten it out. Finally, you could end up with another neuroma from the “hopefully corrective” surgery as easily as you got the first one.

I would definitely try for a few months with injections, etc. with your pain specialist. However, if that fails and your symptoms are bad enough, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to try excising the area one time, and seeing what happened.

Dr. Richard Kline

Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction

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