What is Nipple and Areola Surgery?
Natural harmony between breast, nipple and areola
Nipples and areolas set the done when it comes to beauty in breasts. What makes the breasts truly beautiful is the harmony between the breasts, nipples and the areolas.
Therefore, patients seek to correct their inverted or large and sagging nipples. We can improve these conditions by operations such as inverted nipple correction and nipple reduction surgery. In the case of a darker hue in the nipples, a whitening procedure can be applied to lighten the color. Excessively large areola can be corrected with a reduction surgery.
What is an inverted nipple?
An inverted nipple is a condition where the nipple instead of sticking naturally outward is either flat or does not protrude at all and instead is inside the breast.
A nipple can become inverted because of a lack of supporting tissues on the lower part of the nipple, short lactiferous ducts, and the fibrous tissues which pull the nipples and prevent them from protruding.
Because of the lack of supporting tissues on the lower part of nipple, short lactiferous ducts and fibrous tissues pulling the nipples from protruding, the nipple itself can become inverted.
Inverted nipples are considered displeasing to the eye, cause secretions, inflammation, disturb breastfeeding and damage the nipple’s function as an erogenous zone; correcting inverted nipples can be beneficial since frequent inflammations and difficulty in breastfeeding may increase breast cancer rates.
Procedures for inverted nipple correction
The surgical methods vary depending on the degree of the inversion: minor inversion, repetitive inversion and constant conversion. In addition to this, the procedures are divided into two categories based on preservation and non preservation of the lactiferous ducts.
1.Lactiferous Duct Preserving Method: Breast Feeding Remains Possible
Procedures for inverted nipple correction
>Non-incision Method
Suitable for patients with slightly inverted nipples.
Small holes are drilled around the nipple which works in a similar fashion as the double eyelid non-incision method.
>Triangular Flap Method
Suitable for patients with moderately inverted nipples
The inverted nipple is pulled out and tissues under the nipple are filled to correct the inversion.
2.Lactiferous Duct Non-preserving Method
>This procedure is suitable for patients who have had an inverted nipple correction but the inverted nipples relapsed and patients with severely inverted nipples.
What is an inverted nipple?
An inverted nipple is a condition where the nipple instead of sticking naturally outward is either flat or does not protrude at all and instead is inside the breast.
A nipple can become inverted because of a lack of supporting tissues on the lower part of the nipple, short lactiferous ducts, and the fibrous tissues which pull the nipples and prevent them from protruding.
Because of the lack of supporting tissues on the lower part of nipple, short lactiferous ducts and fibrous tissues pulling the nipples from protruding, the nipple itself can become inverted.
Inverted nipples are considered displeasing to the eye, cause secretions, inflammation, disturb breastfeeding and damage the nipple’s function as an erogenous zone; correcting inverted nipples can be beneficial since frequent inflammations and difficulty in breastfeeding may increase breast cancer rates.
1.Lactiferous Duct Preserving Method: Breast Feeding Remains Possible
Procedures for nipple reduction
1 Lactiferous Duct Preserving Method
This method is generally performed on those who have elongated nipples. The skin and tissues next to the nipple are removed, and the lactiferous ducts are preserved for breastfeeding.
2 Lactiferous Duct Non-preserving Method
- The upper part of the nipple is incised in a V-shape and is sutured to reduce the size of the nipple.
- This procedure removes parts of the lactiferous ducts so breastfeeding may not be possible. This procedure is recommended for those who have finished breastfeeding and do not need to breastfeed in the future.
Nipple/areola surgery is recommended to the patients if:
- Those patients want to correct their inverted nipples for aesthetic reasons.
- Those patients experience frequent inflammation caused by inverted nipples.
- Those patients who find inverted nipples interfere with breastfeeding
- Those patients who have overly large and sagging nipples.
- Those patients who have extremely large areola compared to their breast sized.