Breast Surgery for Areola Asymmetry

Serving San Francisco, San Jose, & Walnut Creek, California

Women not only seek breast reconstruction or breast augmentation to increase their cup size, many women need help with another problem called areola asymmetry. One areola may be a different size or different shape than the other.

Indications

Nipple-areola anatomy varies greatly between individuals and across ethnic groups. You might even see major differences between each of your own areolae. There are many different scenarios that are possible with areola asymmetry:

• Post mastectomy
• Post augmentation or reconstruction correction
• Different size areolae
• Misshapen areola
• One areola is lower than the other

There is no one cosmetic surgery procedure used to correct this problem. San Francisco Breast Surgeon Dr. Randall Weil will incorporate one or more techniques in order to get your areolae to match for the best possible aesthetic appearance.

Procedures

• Areola tattooing – This procedure is performed after reconstruction or in cases where one areola is deemed to be too small. The surgeon pigments the skin around the smaller or repaired areola to match the more aesthetically correct areola. Improvements to color matching have made the other traditional methods almost unnecessary. Tattooing is strictly an aesthetic effect to give the areola more symmetry. It does not change the nature of the skin that is treated. With modern colors, it is possible to match any skin color and get the areolae to appear more proportioned.
• Skin grafts – This procedure takes skin of the same texture and color from other areas of the body and grafts them into place. The skin grafts are less reliable, do not match as well, and put the patient at greater risk, but may be deemed necessary by the cosmetic surgeon based on your individual circumstances.
• Banking – This basically uses excised portions of the areola in other areas, moving it around to make the areola more symmetrical. Again, this procedure is less frequently used thanks to advances in tattooing methods.

After the procedure

The reconstructed nipple and areola should be supported post operatively. The area will be dressed with an antibiotic ointment and petroleum jelly dressing. In some case a maternal, plastic nipple shield or other protective device may be placed. The dressing should be changed regularly over the next couple of weeks. A normal, non-compressing bra should be worn.

To correct areola asymmetry in the San Francisco area, please contact Breast Surgeon Dr. Randall Weil's office to schedule an initial areola asymmetry consultation.