Types of Surgical Procedures for Breast Implants

Areola (Nipple)

The nipple incision is currently one of the most widely used incisions. All implant types can be placed over the muscle, partial sub-muscular, or total submuscular, or removed, via this incision. One advantage of this incision is that the surgeon is working close to the breast, versus farther away, as with the transaxillary or TUBA incisions.

The incision is made just beyond the areola, which is the darker area of skin surrounding the nipple. The incision should be made at the very edge of the areola where the dark tissue meets the lighter breast tissue, which aids the scar in "blending in". The incision should not be made within the areola. If the incision heals in a light colored scar, you will have a white "smiley face" inside of your areola, which will be noticeable, and won't be attractive. Click here to see an example of this. Thankfully, the scars tend to heal quite nicely. However, if they don't, they will be noticeable, since they are situated right on the center of the breast. Leaving the surgical tape on will aid in healing the scar because it reduces the tension on the skin, keeps it from "pulling", helps the scar heal into a very thin line, as well as keeping it flat. Scars and treatments for them will be discussed later on.

You should ask your doctor if he will use a protective "sleeve" when inserting the implant via the nipple incision. (This does not apply to pre-filled implants, since they cannot be rolled up and inserted like inflatable breast implants can.) The breast ducts are known to harbor bacteria. The "sleeve" prevents the implant from coming into contact with the breast ducts, thus virtually eliminating the risk of contamination, which could ultimately lead to some type of germ contamination.

In cases where a mastopexy (breast lift) is recommended, the nipple incision would be the obvious choice. All breast lifts require an incision around the nipple. In these cases, it would be pointless to use any other incision. Doing so would only create more scarring, which is unnecessary.

When placing the implant in the partial or complete sub-muscular position, the muscles and/or fascia (connective tissue) will have to be separated, which translates to a little more post-op discomfort, due to the trauma the muscle/connective tissues are subjected to.

The vast majority of women with areola incisions are very happy with their incisions.