Can Montgomery tubercles impact aesthetic 3D nipple-areolar complex tattooing? An anatomical, quantitative analysis of breast cancer patients

Abstract

PurposeWe aimed to establish a relationship between the amount of Montgomery tubercles (MTs) per nipple-areolar complex (NAC) given patient characteristics such as age, BMI, menopausal status, race/ethnicity, and NAC size to better inform current 3D NAC tattooing practices. MethodsPreoperative photographs of patients pursuing breast reconstruction after mastectomy in 2010 through 2018 were reviewed. The number of MTs on each native NAC was quantified. The impact of patient factors on the quantity of MTs was evaluated via Pearson correlation and bivariate analyses. ResultsTwo hundred and eleven patients (399 breasts) were reviewed. On average, patients had 5.0 ± 5.2 MTs (range, 0–25 MTs). Number of MTs did not correlate with patient age, BMI, or NAC size. Premenopausal females were more likely than postmenopausal females to have a greater number of MTs per breast (p-value = 0.0183). ConclusionsPostmastectomy patients desiring a more “youthful” NAC may consider additional MTs when pursuing 3D NAC tattooing.