Inverted Nipple Correction
It is estimated that over 10% of the UK’s population of adult women have inverted nipples. Some of these women feel self-conscious about their appearance and seek inverted nipple correction.
The nipple on a breast is the outlet of many milk ducts that are connected to the breast glandular tissue. Milk that is produced in the mammary glands travel through the milk ducts to exit at the nipple. Excessively short milk ducts or excessive tissue in the nipple can result in an inverted nipple. Inverted nipples can either affect one or both breasts. The majority of cases with inverted nipples are harmless however if you suddenly develop nipple inversion, it is worth getting this checked as it could also point to a more serious diagnosis such as breast cancer.
Inverted nipple correction is a simple local anaesthetic procedure that can usually be completed within 30 minutes. After injection of local anaesthetic, the procedure of inverted nipple correction requires a small incision to be made at the base of the nipple. Through this incision, the tight structures beneath the nipple are released. Occasionally a suture needs to be inserted in the base of the nipple to help it heal without getting inverted again. Once this is completed, the incision at the base of the nipple is closed with sutures. All sutures are dissolving in nature so they do not need to be removed.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Grade 1 – An inverted nipple that can easily be everted manually or spontaneously evert on stimulus
- Grade 2 – An inverted nipple that can be everted manually with difficulty and rarely stay everted for long
- Grade 3 – An inverted nipple that cannot be everted at all
Inverted nipple correction is a straightforward and easy procedure to perform. The procedure however usually involves division of the tight milk ducts. If the majority of milk ducts are divided, then it may become impossible to breast feed. This being the case, we would only recommend an inverted nipple correction if you have completed your family or are not planning on breastfeeding.
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