What Will Be The Size Of My Areola After Breast Reduction?

Added on 20th December 2019

Sometimes, patients can be conscious about the size of their areola after a breast reduction as there can be fears that it may not look aesthetically pleasing for patients. This vlog provides further details about what happens with your areola and how a breast reduction can impact them.

What impact can a breast reduction have on my areola?

A breast reduction procedure predominantly involves the reduction of tissue in the breasts. Considering the breasts are being reduced, this will also have an impact on your areola. In particular, the nipple position. 

What happens with my areola during breast reduction surgery?

During breast reduction surgery, it’s common for the areolas to be reduced in size. This means the position of the nipple areola complex is changed, normally towards the fold of the breasts and then the skin is tightened.

Case study 1: Change of areola after breast reduction example

This shows the before and after pictures of a patients’ breasts after breast reduction. The overall size of the breasts have been reduced and we can also see how the position of the nipple has been lifted to compliment the tightening of the skin in the breasts. The areola has also been reduced.

Case study 2

Similar to the first case study, this patient has had their areola cut in the exact same way but the nipple’s are larger in comparison. They areolas would have been stretched and appear larger because of how the patient’s skin stretches – it can differ for each patient making it rather unpredictable.

How small can my nipples go during surgery?

There can be restrictions to how small your areolas can be cut in some situations due to the amount of lift and how much stretch appears on the wood closure of the breasts. If less stretch appears with the skin, you’re likely to have better scars as a result but the final results of how your breasts and areolas look after breast reduction can vary with each patient. 

Is there a way I can get an estimation of how my results may look before I go into surgery?

A good way to get an idea of how the results of your areola after breast reduction will look is by researching images of patients who have a similar appearance in breasts to you. Feel free to browse our breast reduction case study page which provides before and after images of patients who have gone through breast reduction surgery. 

You can also look at these during a consultation where the pros, cons and risks of the surgery are discussed.

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