Darker nipple after surgery

[Slide931]

So I Just had gynecomastia surgery on my left nipple only. Im almost 2 weeks in. I just notices that My left nipple is darker than my right. Will the color of my left nipple turn back to normal in time?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Usually the nipples will darken in color after gyne surgery.  Don't know why one should darken more than the other unless they were different sizes to begin with.

Dr Jacobs

[fluffy_tits]

yep im 2 weeks out to and both sides of my chest are dark....when they get lighter i guess will have healed all the way!!  where it's dark at i don't have alot of feeling there...is it like that for you?

[Slide931]

Well I only had surgery on my left side cause my right 1 had no problems. Im just wondering if the color on my left nipple will turn back to normal

[Slide931]

yep im 2 weeks out to and both sides of my chest are dark....when they get lighter i guess will have healed all the way!!  where it's dark at i don't have alot of feeling there...is it like that for you?

Yeah same feeling

[fluffy_tits]

oh ok good...im not alone then haha

and im not too worried about the color anyway cause im black haha and i don't plan on taking off my shirt.  my goal was to look normal in a t-shirt and i achieved that!

[headheldhigh01]

you think it was really a pigmentation thing instead of just bruising? 

[Slide931]

Im not entirely sure. I just hope it turns back to the normal color

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

It is normal for the color of the areolas to darken slightly after surgery.  Remember, the skin and the areolas will tighten and shrink a bit after surgery.  The pigment in the areola, which is situated in pigment cells in the skin, will move closer together as the skin shrinks.  The result is more pigment in a given area and hence a darker appearance.  This slight darkening is permanent.

On occasion, there may be a bruise on the areola -- this is temporary and will disappear in a short time.

If one has nipples of different sizes prior to surgery, it is possible that there may be a slight color difference after surgery -- but both will be a shade darker.

Dr Jacobs

[DrBermant]

So I Just had gynecomastia surgery on my left nipple only. Im almost 2 weeks in. I just notices that My left nipple is darker than my right. Will the color of my left nipple turn back to normal in time?

I addressed this questions in the past:

I notice from the pre-post pictures that after the surgery nipples usually darken in color. Do you know the reason of this color change and is it permanent? Thank you!!

Bruising can darken tissue, but with my techniques the bruising for my patients is negligible.  The most common cause is that the areola / nipple complex shrinks with surgery.  The same number of pigmentation cells in a smaller area darkens the tissue.

Here is a balloon demonstration of nipple / areola shrinkage typically seen with my gynecomastia surgery.  When a breast gets bigger, so does the diameter of the areola nipple complex.  Remove tissue from the breast and it is like this balloon deflation.  However, not all tissues shrink the same.  Tissue over stretched, older patients, scars, and gland remaining after gynecomastia surgery can limit this decrease.  Here is a demonstration of deflation with areola staying the same size.  That is why I prefer to target this gland first with my surgery.

Take your time to browse through the galleries of nipple areola pictures before and after gynecomastia surgery to see actual results for my patients.

The most common causes for increased pigmentation in my patients is as was mentioned above, the shrinking of the areola: the same number of pigment cells concentrated in a smaller area.

Another for darker tissues include bruising. As bruising resolves, iron pigment can permanently stain and darken tissues.  That is why minimal bruising techniques can be so critical.

Tanning healing tissues can also result in permanent darker pigmentation as healing tissues may not give up the pigmentation of tanning.

The last cause of darker tissues, is dead tissues which as they die tend to turn black.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Male Breast Reduction

[Slide931]

thank you docs 

[asymmetrical]

It is normal for the color of the areolas to darken slightly after surgery.  Remember, the skin and the areolas will tighten and shrink a bit after surgery.  The pigment in the areola, which is situated in pigment cells in the skin, will move closer together as the skin shrinks.  The result is more pigment in a given area and hence a darker appearance.  This slight darkening is permanent.

On occasion, there may be a bruise on the areola -- this is temporary and will disappear in a short time.

If one has nipples of different sizes prior to surgery, it is possible that there may be a slight color difference after surgery -- but both will be a shade darker.

Dr Jacobs

Really want to get surgery to reduce my puffiness (especially on one side) but that darkening is why I haven't done it yet.  Is there some way to prevent that?

Imho the darkening is almost as bad as the puffiness.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Interesting -- in all my years, I have never had even one patient voice concern over a possible darker shade of a nipple -- much less base a decision on their surgery due to that possibility.  Most of my patients are so pleased to have a better chest with smaller diameter areolas that the slight color change never bothers them.

If you go to my website, you can look at the photo gallery and particularly look at the size and color of the areolas both before and after surgery.  If that color change really bothers you, then advise against surgery because there is absolutely no way to prevent that from happening.

Dr Jacobs

[asymmetrical]

Interesting -- in all my years, I have never had even one patient voice concern over a possible darker shade of a nipple -- much less base a decision on their surgery due to that possibility.  Most of my patients are so pleased to have a better chest with smaller diameter areolas that the slight color change never bothers them.

If you go to my website, you can look at the photo gallery and particularly look at the size and color of the areolas both before and after surgery.  If that color change really bothers you, then advise against surgery because there is absolutely no way to prevent that from happening.

Dr Jacobs

The problem for me is I really only need one side done.  So that would leave a fairly embarrassing situation for me -- "why is one nipple darker than the other?"

Also if I spend enough time in the tanning booth my skin color blends in with my areola and makes it much less noticeable.  This is obviously not an optimal solution for me due to skin cancer concerns.  At some point I'll probably get the surgery.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Many men make the mistake of thinking they only need one side to be done when in fact both sides have extra tissue, perhaps one side more than the other.  It is very difficult in surgery to reduce the larger side so that it precisely matches the smaller (albeit still with excess tissue) side.  The only way to know for sure is to consult with an experienced gyne surgeon to determine all your options.

Dr Jacobs