Nipple Surgery
Conveniently Located to Serve Houston, Katy, and The Woodlands.
Las imágenes de la cara y el cuerpo que no sean del personal y los pacientes de la Dra, Rodríguez son modelos estándar
While you may feel like the only person in the world with nipples that are inverted, this is incredibly common. About 10% of the population have inverted nipples which means the nipple is retracted inwards and does not stick out beyond the surrounding skin surface. In most cases, it is present from the time of birth and is not worrisome. During development in the womb, early breast tissue develops under the skin surface in men and women. Usually, this tissue pushes the nipple outwards and above the level of the areola. If this doesn’t happen, the result can be an inverted nipple.
It is also common to have nipples that are disproportionately large or puffy. This may mean that the nipples stick out too much to the point where they are frequently visible through clothing. This may have been present for much of your life or may become apparent after pregnancy or breastfeeding. Overly large nipples may also rub against overlying clothes and cause chafing or irritation, especially during exercise, and can be bothersome to men and women alike.
How is Nipple Surgeryperformed?
First, it is important to understand the difference between the nipple and the areola.
areola
The areola is the area of skin with slightly darker pigment compared to the rest of the skin on the chest.
nipple
At the center of the areola is the nipple: the skin/tissue that contains the milk duct openings and that projects outwards in most people.
Nipple surgery can help correct an inverted nipple or help make a large nipple less prominent by reducing the size.
An inverted nipple is corrected by making a small incision along the base of the nipple, where the nipple meets the areola. The tissue bands that pull the nipple inwards are then cut to release the nipple and improve the projection. The incision is then stitched closed.
A large or puffy nipple can be reduced in size by removing a portion of the nipple skin and underlying tissue. Stitches are then used to close the incisions.
Both types of nipple surgery can easily and comfortably be done under local anesthesia.
If you are having a breast reduction or breast lift (mastopexy), Dr. Rodriguez may advise against having nipple surgery at the same time. During both nipple surgery and breast surgeries, some blood supply to the nipple is disrupted. If the nipple does not receive enough blood supply, the skin at the nipple does not survive. To minimize this risk, Dr. Rodriguez may recommend having nipple surgery several weeks after a breast reduction or breast lift (mastopexy). Separating these procedures allows the nipple to recover and develop new blood supply.
am i a goodcandidate?
You may be a candidate for nipple surgery with Dr. Rodriguez. Consider booking a consultation for nipple surgery if you have:
- RRetracted or inverted nipples
- RNipples that are overly projected
- RLarge or puffy nipples
- RNipples that are disproportionate in size to the areola
- RIrritation or chafing of the nipples
- RHave good control of medical conditions
- RAre a non-smoker and do not use nicotine
- RHave reasonable expectations for surgery
nipple surgeryrecovery
The incisions on the nipple are dressed with antibiotic ointment which is reapplied twice a day for the first few days.
Padding is applied around the nipple to protect it from the pressure of your clothing. For women, a soft loose bra is recommended during the healing period.
Dr. Rodriguez will use absorbable stitches in most cases, so the stitches will fall out on their own and do not need to be removed.
In most cases, you can return to work the following day.
nipple surgeryresults
After inverted nipple repair, your nipple may look overly projected. This is purposeful and done to combat the fact that scarring at the nipple tends to start pulling the nipple back inwards. It will not stay in the overly projected position forever. After several weeks-months, you should notice that the nipple sticks just slightly outwards.
After nipple reduction surgery, the results are more readily apparent early on. It should not become overly projected again.
The texture and pigmentation of the skin at the nipple/areola usually camouflage the scars quite well.