What is an Areola Reduction?
Areola reduction surgery reduces the size of the areolas, or the darker pigmented skin around the nipples. The procedure does not alter breast size, measurements, or volume — it focuses solely on the areolas, giving them a more desirable size, shape, and proportion. We perform areola reduction on both male and female patients and do so as both a stand-alone surgery and as part of other breast procedures.
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What Can Areola Reduction Surgery Correct?
Areola reduction can make the areolas smaller, more symmetrical, and better proportioned to your breast size. Areola size preferences are very subjective, but sometimes people feel that theirs are simply too big. Even if you were happy with your areolas in your youth, pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight changes, age, and breast surgeries can all alter areolar appearance.
It’s important to understand that areola reduction changes the way your breasts look, but it won’t change their size, shape, or density. Changing the shape of the areola can have a dramatic effect on the perceived balance of your breasts, but it won’t physically alter them. Doing that requires breast augmentation, breast lift, breast reduction, or gynecomastia surgery.
How is Areola Reduction Surgery Performed?
If you’re having an areola reduction by itself, the surgery can be done under general anesthesia or a local anesthetic. Either way, we perform the procedure as follows:
- Your plastic surgeon maps out your new areola, drawing a circle outlining where your new areola border will be.
- While carefully preserving the blood supply to your nipple, your surgeon cuts around your existing areola border and the desired new border.
- The donut-shaped piece of skin between the two incisions is removed.
- Your incision is sutured closed, joining your nipple and the new areola border.
Areola Reduction Recovery
While some swelling, bruising, and tenderness are expected after areola reduction surgery, most patients describe a tight or tingling sensation rather than pain. You will need to wear a supportive surgical bra after surgery to reduce tension on the incisions as they heal. Keeping the incisions clean and monitoring them for signs of infection is also critical but easy to do. Most patients return to work a day or two after the procedure, but feeling good doesn’t mean fully healed. Remember that your areolas may look asymmetrical, elevated, or tight until the swelling resolves and the tissue settles.
Areola Reduction Scars
Your incisions will heal by scabbing over and then forming a scar. Your plastic surgeon will help camouflage this scar by placing it at the edge of the areola where the skin is darker, but scar visibility does vary from one patient to the next. You can help reduce your scar’s visibility by following all of your post-op instructions and using silicone scar treatments religiously for several months. It takes a few months to a year for scars to completely flatten and fade, so try to be patient with the process.
Long-Term Results of Areola Reduction
The results of an areola reduction are meant to last for a long time, but we can’t promise you forever. Future areola widening and stretching are possible even after surgery. As you age, your body continues to change. Your areolas could too for many reasons, including:
- Skin elasticity
- Weight fluctuations
- Future breast surgeries
- Pregnancy
- Amount of initial reduction
- Hormonal changes
- Tension on incisions during healing
- Smoking, sun exposure, or medical conditions that degrade skin quality
This doesn’t mean that areola reduction surgery isn’t worthwhile — many patients enjoy their results for decades. But you do need to speak to your plastic surgeon about potential outcomes based on your unique anatomy.
Who is a Candidate for Areola Reduction Surgery?
If you’re healthy overall and of an age where your breast development is complete, you’re likely a good candidate for areola reduction surgery. We do recommend waiting six months to a year after pregnancy, breastfeeding, breast surgery, or significant weight loss, however, to give your body time to fully settle and reshape itself without interference.
During a consultation with a plastic surgeon or surgical coordinator, we review your case to make sure that areola reduction is a good fit for you both health-wise and in terms of desired results. If you are seeking a revision after a previous procedure, note that current scarring, sensation, circulation, and available tissue could impact your surgery and will be reviewed during your consultation.
What Areola Reduction Doesn’t Do
As its name suggests, areola reduction surgery is laser focused on the areolas. It will not alter any other breast tissue. Meeting your aesthetic goals may require additional or different procedures if you also have concerns about nipple size, breast size, breast sagging, overall breast symmetry, gynecomastia, or tuberous breasts. Our caring staff will help you determine what you need (and what you don’t) to get where you want to go.
Frequently Asked Questions
Areola reduction surgery is not very painful at all. You will experience some swelling, bruising, tenderness, and tightness. Most of our patients describe their discomfort as tingling more so than pain. You should expect to experience more pain when combining an areola reduction with other, more intense procedures, though.
Yes. You can have an areola reduction on one or both breasts as needed.
No. Areola reduction will not impact the size or shape of your breasts. They may look more symmetrical or better proportioned after your areola surgery, but this is only a visual perception. Your breasts themselves won’t change.
Although scarring varies from one person to another, you can generally expect a faint scar around your new areola. It is positioned along the border between the areola and the surrounding skin so that it blends in well. Most patients are happy with their scars when they follow all of their post-op care instructions and use scar treatments properly. If you feel your scar is problematic, scar revision surgery may be an option, but most patients don’t need this intervention.
Yes, but this is rare. During surgery, plastic surgeons strive to preserve the blood flow to the nipple, which in itself remains relatively undisturbed. Some women do experience numbness and other sensation changes during recovery, but this is usually temporary. It’s important to understand that a disruption in nipple sensation is possible, however.
Most women have no issue with breastfeeding after areola reduction surgery. Surgeons strive to keep blood vessels and milk ducts fully intact around the nipple so that future breastfeeding is not problematic. Breastfeeding difficulties are possible, albeit rare, and it is something you should be aware of. If this is important to you, talk to your surgeon about the techniques and strategies they will use to preserve your ability to breastfeed.
Nipple reduction decreases the size, projection, or length of the nipple itself. It doesn’t change the size of the areola. The reverse is also true: Areola reduction does not change the size of the nipples. This table helps highlight the differences between the two procedures:
| Nipple Reduction | Areola Reduction |
|---|---|
| Changes the size or projection of the nipple | Changes the size of the pigmented areola |
| Removes tissue from the nipple itself | Removes skin around the outer edge of the areola |
| Treats long, enlarged, or protruding nipples | Treats enlarged or stretched areolas |
| Focuses on nipple shape and projection | Focuses on areola diameter and symmetry |
We can perform an areola reduction after breast implants, implant removal, and top surgery. The condition is that you wait at least six months to a year between your original surgery and your areola reduction. You need to be fully healed from one procedure before rolling into another.
An areola reduction can be combined with almost any other breast surgery, including reductions, lifts, and augmentations. Areola reduction can also be done as part of gynecomastia correction surgery.