What is inverted nipple correction?

In order to understand how inverted nipple surgery can be used to correct inverted nipples, it is helpful to know how the condition is caused.

What causes inverted nipples?

The cause of inverted nipples is:

• An imbalance between the inwards traction of the milk ducts and the traction of the muscle within the nipple which pulls the nipple outwards.
• It is this muscle which contracts when you are cold producing great prominence of the nipple.
• If the inward tethering force of the tight, shortened milk ducts is greater than the force exerted by the muscle within the nipple, inverted nipples will result.

The severity of the inverted nipples can vary considerably. An initial Consultation is required to ascertain the grade of your nipple inversion.

Do you really need surgery? Non-surgical versus surgical options

Before choosing to undergo inverted nipple correction surgery, we advise you to consider treatments which can help your nipple inversion without surgery.

Non-surgical treatment for inverted nipples

These may include the Niplette suction device; a pump which inserts gentle traction on your nipples and is generally used overnight as you sleep. The gentle traction slowly stretches your milk ducts allowing the nipple to sit in an everted position.

The Niplette suction device has the effect of gently stretching the milk ducts which are the main cause of your inverted nipples.

We have noticed that more patients with flat or grade 1 inverted nipples tend to respond well to the Niplette suction device but it does not work so well with grade 2 to 3 inverted nipples.

Surgical solutions: inverted nipple correction

If the Niplette suction device does not satisfactorily cure your inverted nipples, the main alternative is surgical nipple correction, which can be performed under local anaesthetic.

A brief introduction to inverted nipple correction surgery

This surgical procedure, generally performed under local anaesthetic as a day patient:

• lasts approximately 30 minutes.
• the milk ducts which are tethering your nipple inwards are either released or divided. This allows your nipple to come out and lie in its normal position.
• soluble internal stitches are used at the base of the nipple to hold it in position whilst it is healing.

Expected results

Overall, inverted nipple correction surgery is very successful in most cases.

Breastfeeding and inverted nipple correction surgery

The main downside of the procedure is that you will be unable to breast feed after inverted nipple correction. This is because the milk ducts which carry the milk from the underlying breast glands to the nipple will be divided or lengthened during the operation.

The inability to breastfeed afterwards is the main downside of inverted nipple correction and is something you'll need to consider carefully if you are planning to have a family and would like to breastfeed.

Although your nipples may be inverted, it is often still possible to breastfeed. A good guide for this is if the Niplette suction device causes eversion and correction of your nipples, then the suction of your baby is likely to do so as well.

Why choose Aurora to treat your inverted nipples?

At Aurora Clinics we specialise in inverted nipple correction and find the surgery very successful and effective. If you would like to schedule a free consultation to find out if this kind of surgery would be suitable for you please contact us.

If you would like to hear previous patients' experiences of inverted nipple correction performed at Aurora Clinics you can visit the inverted nipple patient testimonial section of our website.

To see how an inverted nipple correction is performed, please view some of our inverted nipple procedure videos.

Many people find it useful to listen to our free information CD about inverted nipple correction and this can be obtained by completing the enquiry form or Contact Us for more information.

For more detailed information about Inverted Nipple Correction and what to expect if you opt for this surgery, please browse through our other FAQ pages using the navigation bar on the right.