What Is The Difference Between Surgery For Pointy Nipples and Puffy Nipples?

Q: Hello, I am a 27 year-old athletic male who is bothered both my puffy nipples. Some days they don’t seem that bad. But other days they really stick out. I don’t know why they are so different on different days. I am not sure whether I need my nipple cut down or the tissue under the nipple removed. Whatever it takes to do it I don’t care as I just want it gone. What do you recommend and what is the surgery like and how quick will I recover?

A: Puffy nipples are different than pointy nipples as patients often describe these two male chest problems. A pointy nipple is when the centrally located nipple within the areola sticks out like a small sharp point. It is small protrusion and is managed by a simple nipple reduction which is an office procedure done under local anesthesia. There is no real recovery as small dissolveable sutures at placed and one goes about their activities as normal immediately afterward. A puffy nipple refers to the development of a small mass of breast tissue underneath the nipple-areolar complex that makes it stick out or be puffy. This is known as areolar gynecomastia and is a limited gynecomastic reduction. It is treated by an outpatient procedure in which the enlarged breast tissue is removed from under the nipple by a small lower areolar incision. Patients wear a chest wrap for a week or so and show refrain from exercise or strenuous exercise for a few weeks to avoid a fluid collection or excessive scar tissue formation which will wipe out the benefits of having the puffy breast tissue removed.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana