A surgery for areola reduction? total reshape

[Monkeymonk2011]

Hello,

Been thinking whether there is a surgery out there for men to actually have their entire nipples reduced in size. I don't mean through removal of fat tissue lipo and gland route where the nipple would retract back towards the body, I'm thinking like a total reshape of the nipple - the width and size.. So from a pepperoni sized nipple to a pea sized one! (maybe not that small, but you get the idea)

Is such thing available? Does it arise with complications or odd looking effects? I'd be interested to know as only heard of the lipo and gland means of procedure

Please advise, thanking in advance

[Litlriki]

Yes, areolar reduction can be done either in conjunction with removal of the underlying gynecomastia tissue or in a second surgery.  Areolar reduction done at the same time as removal of the gynecomastia is a riskier procedure with regard to nipple viability, and this is definitely something that you want to have done by an experienced gynecomastia surgeon.  Since the areola shrinks after removal of the underlying glandular component, I will usually only do this if it's obvious that the areola needs to be reduced.  This is more characteristic of the gynecomastia seen in association with obesity, especially childhood obesity, but some men just have larger areolae. On occasion, in men with borderline large areolae, I will not do the skin excision until I see how the patient looks post-operatively.  In most cases, the nipple shrinks to the patient's satisfaction, avoiding the extra risk and the resulting scar. If not, doing the procedure secondarily is simple, and can be done with local anesthesia in the office, adding little expense for the patient. 

There are several examples of this procedure on my website.  Follow the links under Gynecomastia: Skin reduction.

Rick Silverman

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Dr. Silverman is absolutely correct.

Many men have concerns about the diameter of their areolas as well as their gyne.  Interestingly, they are not related.  I have had men with large gyne and tiny nipples -- and vice versa.

In virtually 100$ of cases, when the gyne tissue is removed, the skin will contract and so will the areolar diameters.  Oftentimes, this is quite sufficient -- and there will be no question of diminished blood supply to the areola or additional scarring or distortion of contour.  If one tries to reduce the gyne tissue and reduce the areolar diameter all at the same time, there may be compromise of the blood supply to the areola -- sometimes with very bad results.

I believe the best idea is to perform regular gyne surgery and allow the skin and areola to contract.  Then re-evaluate at six months post op and see if you are satisfied.  If so, then nothing more need be done -- this happens in about 98% of my cases.

If further reduction of the diameter is requested, it would end up with a scar completely around the edge of the areola.  And sometimes, removal of that outer donut of pigmented skin and pulling the skin to the edges of the now-smaller areola can result in wide scarring or even stretching of the areola back to its original size.  When this happens, it cannot be fixed.

In essence, proceed with caution in this surgery and choose your surgeon carefully.

Dr Jacobs

[DrBermant]

Check out similar question and answer here:

https://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php?topic=19991.0

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, M.D.
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member: American Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
Specializing in Gynecomastia and Surgical Sculpture of the Male Chest
(804) 748-7737