Breast Reduction

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a breast reduction question. Immediately after surgery when the dressings were taken off, my areola have a somewhat different size and shape. I know that my breasts will hange during the recovery period as the swelling goes down. I was wondering if my areolas would also change in shape and size as well? I knew there was a high possibility of them being different but I wasn’t sure if they just look a lot different in size now because they are still healing.

A: The areolas may change a bit but not a whole lot as the breast reduction heals. Areolas are usually a bit different after breast reduction surgery because they were not never really symmetric initially. While they are cut evenly using a ‘cookie cutter’ at 42mm in diameter during the first step in breast reduction surgery, the act of sewing them back to a new spot on the breast mound and the suturing rarely makes them as symmetric as the way they were initially cut out. I would wait six months and if the areolar size and shape is still an issue, adjustment of them can be done in the office under local anesthesia.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana