Inverted Nipple Repair

Overview

An inverted nipple concern can safely be addressed by a simple procedure to help women restore their beautiful, feminine chest appearance.

An inverted nipple points inward instead of outward, giving the breast a different appearance. It can occur in just one nipple or both nipples at the same time, and affects around two percent of all women at some point during their lives. If you have an inverted nipple, it might make you self-conscious about your appearance, particularly during intimacy. It can also make breastfeeding more challenging.

There is an outpatient surgical procedure that reverses an inverted nipple to improve the overall appearance of the breast and improve patients’ self-confidence at the same time. The procedure has a high success rate, and involves very little discomfort and downtime when performed by our experienced plastic surgeons.

Are You a Candidate for an inverted nipple surgery?

Nipple inversion is often caused by the constriction of milk ducts and fibrous tissue in the breast that draws the nipple inward. The problem can be due to inflammation or the buildup of scar tissue after surgery. There are three stages of nipple inversion:

Stage One

Also known as “shy nipples”, in this phase the nipples are inverted most of the time, but will normally protrude with stimulation. The nipples may remain out for a period of time before inverting again.

Stage Two

At this stage, nipples stay in all the time, but may protrude with applied suction. When the suction is removed, the nipples will immediately revert to their inverted position.

Stage Three

This advanced stage is defined by inverted nipples that will not protrude with any amount of stimulation or suction. In this case, the constricted tissue is too tight to allow for any changes to nipple position without surgical intervention.

All three of these stages of inversion can be effectively addressed through the same surgical procedure.

The procedure
at a glance

The Recovery Process

You should be able to return to work and other activities within 2-3 days, and to more rigorous exercise in 2-3 weeks. Once the nipples have healed, their new position should be permanent, since the underlying cause of the inversion has been addressed. Residual scarring will be located inside the areola where it will not be noticeable after surgery.