Areola reduction surgery
Nipple plastic surgery Charlotte area
The areola is the darker circle of skin around the nipple. For some women, the size of the areola is a concern. They may feel that it’s too large to be proportionate to the breast. When a woman undergoes a breast reduction or breast lift, then she might want to reduce the size of her areolas to fit the size of the new breast. In some cases, the areolas are not symmetrical, and a woman may want to reduce the size of the larger one in order to bring them into alignment with each other.
Plastic surgery has ways to help women with this concern. What types of surgical procedures can be used for the areola? Can this procedure be combined with other types of plastic surgery for the breast?
What is the areola reduction procedure like?
Surgical reduction of the areola can be performed on its own, although it’s more commonly part of another procedure. To perform areola reduction, the plastic surgeon makes two circular incisions, one at the border of the areola and the other inside of it. The tissue between the two is removed, and then the incision is closed. This leaves a smaller areola. The incision is well-disguised at the border between the areola and the surrounding skin and will usually be discreet after healing.
Can areola reduction be performed along with breast reduction or breast lift?
With a breast reduction or a breast lift, there is already an incision being made around the areola as part of the procedure. In fact, these procedures always include removal of a small amount of tissue from the areola. If a woman is satisfied with the size of her areolas before the procedure, then the amount of tissue removal can be minimized in order to keep their size roughly the same.
However, if a woman wants to have her areolas reduced in size during the procedure, then this is certainly possible and doesn’t require any additional incisions. The amount of tissue that is removed during the procedure can be tailored to the patient’s preference. Your surgeon should discuss this with you during your consultation appointment, so that he or she knows how much tissue you would like to have removed from the areola.
Can areola reduction be performed along with breast augmentation?
Although breast augmentation doesn’t always include an incision around the areola, it’s definitely possible to add areola reduction to a breast augmentation procedure. This allows a woman to address multiple aspects of breast appearance with only one period of surgical healing required afterwards.
If a woman chooses to have areola reduction along with a breast augmentation procedure, then it may be possible to place the implant through the same incision (a periareolar incision). This will result in just one scar on the breast. However, using a periareolar incision for breast augmentation does limit the size of the implant, since the incision will be relatively small. In addition, using this incision to place the implants is more likely to interfere with the ability to breastfeed in the future, because it interrupts many of the milk ducts (the tubes that carry milk from the mammary glands to the nipple).
If the implant is being placed through a different incision (such as an inframammary incision), an areola reduction can still be performed at the same time. There will be two different incisions on the breast afterwards if an inframammary incision is desired for implant placement.
Nipple plastic surgery Charlotte area
If you’re interested in discussing areola reduction (either with or without another breast procedure), then you should make an appointment with a qualified plastic surgeon. If you’re in the greater Charlotte area, we invite you to schedule a consultation with Dr. Miles. He often performs cosmetic surgical procedures of the breast and will be happy to talk more with you about what’s involved in areola reduction, as well as what results you could likely expect if you choose to have this surgery.
Dr. Miles is very highly regarded for his technical skills and gets great results for his patients. If you’d like to take advantage of the opportunity to consult with Dr. Miles to learn more about your options for areola reduction and/or other types of cosmetic surgery for the breast, simply contact our friendly front desk staff.
