Inverted Nipples
Flat or inverted nipples mean the nipple is invisible.
It is caused by the retraction of the nipple by short length of milk ducts through which breast secretions flow during breast feeding.
Because of this shortening, the ducts attract the nipple towards the inside.
Inverted nipples can prevent breast feeding and/or have sexual consequences.
Before the procedure
A consultation with your plastic surgeon is mandatory before the operation. Medical photographies are always taken during this consultation.
A preoperative mammogram is mandatory for women over 35 or with risk factors for breast cancer.
Health insurance partially reimburses the operation, so does the mutual insurance.
The procedure
The operation is carried out in an ambulatory facility.
The anaesthesia usually is local and sometimes a neurolept-analgesia is performed.
A short general anaesthesia can be performed if the patient wishes so.
The operation is quick, it lasts from 30 to 45 minutes.
First of all, milk ducts under the nipple are cut. The nipple is released and externalized. Then, to prevent recurrences by reconnection between the milk ducts, 2 small flaps removed from the areola are positioned between the nipple and the mammary gland. The ducts can reconnect. The result is stable. Finally, the base of the nipple is tightened by a point in a box to keep it erected.
After the procedure
Stop working is advised during 1 to 3 days.
The result of the operation is immediate. In the following days, the nipple lightly de-epithelized and a crust appears. Healing is quick with the application of Vaseline. The small dressing is removed 24 hours after the surgery and stitches fall spontaneously in 10 to 15 days. You can have a shower from the day after the operation. Pains are minor but are well balanced by the usual pain-killers.
A transitory loss of sensitivity in the area of the nipple can appear. Regarding routine screening for breast cancer, breast monitoring by mammogram is not affected by the operation.
You will need to stop working during 1 to 3 days.
It is preferable to wait at least 1 year before pregnancy, for the nipple to recover its feeding capacities (possible in some cases). The flap technique offers excellent results and the recurrence rate is very low. The final result can be appreciated 1 month after the operation. The final aspect of the light scars appears after 1 year.
Page réalisée d'après les fiches d'information de la Société Française de Chirurgie Plastique Reconstructrice et Esthétique
Page created according to the information sheets of the authority of the French Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic surgery (Société Française de Chirurgie Plastique Reconstructrice et Esthétique - SOFCPRE)
The benefits of inverted nipples surgery
One night in a clinic
No need to stop working
Immediate result
What should you do prior to the operation?
- 1 or 2 consultations with your plastic surgeon where he or she will take medical photographs.
- Presentation and signing of the estimate with a 15 days legal delay between the first consultation and the operation.
- Anaesthesia consultation, blood test and mammography, as appropriate.
What does the procedure imply?
- Local anaesthesia with or without sedation or general anaesthesia.
- 30 to 45 minutes duration depending on the technique used.
- No hospitalization: you can return home on the very same day.
What is the follow-up?
- Follow up consultation with your plastic surgeon 10 days after the operation.
- The stitches are dissolvable.
- The practice of sport must be discontinued during 15 days.
- You can go back to work on the day after the surgery.
- Final result 1 month after the surgery.
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