Plastic Surgeons Repair Inverted Nipples
Techniques, breast surgery Comments Off
Plastic surgeons who specialize in surgeries of the breast, such as:
- Breast augmentation
- Breast reduction
- Breast lift
say about two percent of the female population have inverted nipples which are turned inward into the breast rather than standing upright.
The condition is usually due to genetics, while some infections and conditions can cause it.
Nonetheless, affected women seek help from plastic surgeons because:
- The look is unattractive
- They are inhibited in intimacy
- Breast feeding can be a problem
Usually, the inverted nipple is held inside the breast due to scar tissue or muscles just below the skin’s surface.
In most cases, the plastic surgeon uses small incisions into those internal breast muscles to allow the nipple to release and pop up. In some cases, the woman loses the breast feeding ability because the milk ducts are severed.
One study revealed another way to repair inverted nipples is using a needle, smaller incisions and putting the nipples in traction for a week.
Known as the Stevens Stent, the technique works like this:
The surgeon releases the muscles with a tiny incision next to the milk duct, uses a small hook to pull the nipple upright and then places stitches internally around the nipple at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions.
After that, the surgeon puts surgical gauze and a small medical cup a little larger than a thimble over the nipple to protect it and the surgical site. The stent is removed after five days. The stitches dissolve automatically.
Appearing in a magazine for plastic surgeons, the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the article told how 21 nipple/stent patients were followed for one year. All reported their nipples had stayed upright during the year after breast surgery.
Would you have plastic surgery if you had inverted nipples?
admin @ January 15, 2009