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In this edition of Self Asteame Magazine we turn our attention once again to the ongoing clinical tests of the Nipple Guard at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA. Our interview with Dr. Gordon Lee of the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Clinic reveals that patients in the Nipple Guard group had a 4% increase in nipple projection at 8 weeks of continuous use of the device. |
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First, cumulative compressive forces, for example, from wearing a bra, may flatten the nipple into the breast mound. Second, pulling forces originating from the scars formed in the stitched donor tissue area may pull the nipple into the breast mound. Finally, excessive tightness in the breast mound may make it difficult for the surgeon to accumulate enough tissue to form a new nipple having an adequate initial projection. Asteame’s Nipple Guard is a new post-operative dressing that reduces both flattening and pulling forces on a surgically reconstructed nipple; allowing the nipple to heal in an upright, protruded position. Dr. Gordon Lee and Dr. James Rosing of the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Clinic at Stanford University Medical Center are leading the first independent, prospective randomized clinical control study that evaluates the effectiveness of the Nipple Guard in preserving nipple projection. |
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The February 2008 edition of Self Asteame Magazine reviewed the objectives of the Stanford clinical study and examined the physical characteristics of nipple flattening from the perspective of the patients in the control group – those who did not wear the Nipple Guard. Nipple projection and diameter were measured at post-operative day zero, 1 week, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks for the initial part of the study. Preliminary results show that patients not using the Nipple Guard (controls) had a 66.4% decrease in nipple projection at 8 weeks. Dr. Lee is with us today to examine the results for the patients in the Nipple Guard group; the group of patients who continuously wore the Nipple Guard for 8 weeks following their respective nipple reconstructions.
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