Inverted Nipple

Women’s breast enlarges and nipples erect in puberty. In rare instances, nipples do not erect and stay inverted among some women. If a woman with inverted nipples doesn’t treat them and nurses her baby, he/she cannot suckle mother’s milk properly. Inverted nipple also causes inflammation of the breast.

A nipple is depressed below the areola and cannot be pulled up. A nipple is sunk in like a navel.

A depressed nipple was pulled up and stitched together. This is a picture of the patient’s nipple four months after the surgery.

Breastfeeding Difficulty and Inverted Nipple

At our clinic, insurance is accepted for the treatment of inverted nipples for a mother-to-be with suspected breastfeeding difficulty. An inverted nipple is depressed like a navel. A depressed nipple below the areola is pulled up and stitched during the surgery. A breast duct for nursing is not affected by the surgery, so the patient can nurse a baby without a problem after the surgery.

Pregnant women cannot have an inverted nipple surgery since the medication may affect a fetus. Nursing mothers cannot have the surgery either for the same reason. If you consider the treatment of inverted nipples, you need to receive a surgery before you become pregnant. We recommend that you consult our clinic as soon as possible.

Some women in their 60’s and 70’s come to our clinic for the treatment of inverted nipples. Most of these women want to overcome their inferiority complex for many years and improve their self esteem. Many of these patients say they want to go to a hot spring without hiding their nipples. Unfortunately, insurance is not accepted for the treatment of inverted nipples for cosmetic purpose. These patients are required to pay for the entire cost of the surgery. If a patient in child bearing age intends to become pregnant, but is concerned about breastfeeding difficulty due to her inverted nipples, insurance is accepted for the treatment.

Inverted Nipple Surgery

The nipple is a very soft part of the body, so it needs to be protected after the surgery. If a pressure is applied to the nipple after the inverted nipple surgery, it might depress again. We provide a special protector for treated nipples to protect them after the surgery.

It takes two hours to complete the surgery for both nipples. There is no need for hospitalization.

The total out-of-pocket cost of the surgery covered by health insurance is about 60,000 yen. This cost covers the first office visit, blood test and surgery of both inverted nipples.

Not all plastic and cosmetic surgeons can perform inverted nipple surgery since it requires a high level of skill. There are very few cosmetic and plastic surgeons who perform the surgery with insurance coverage.

The condition of nipples drooping after childbirth like a cow’s udders is called “droopy nipple”. Droopy nipples can be shortened to its original size by a surgery. Health insurance is not accepted for this procedure since its purpose is purely cosmetic.