Breast Areola Reduction in Las Vegas
Stephen W. Gordon, M.D.

Large areolas as one might expect, are most often found on large breasts. If the large breast is going to be reduced, (i.e. breast reduction) then the large areola will certainly be reduced as well. Large areolas also commonly arise after pregnancy with the stretching of the skin and subsequent shrinking of the breast gland associated with that condition. After pregnancy, breasts are often very saggy with large areolas. When these breasts are lifted, the large areola is reduced in diameter to give a balanced and proportional appearance to the lifted breast. Less commonly an areola may be large and odd looking because of developmental differences in one breast as compared to the other. A tuberous appearance may occur because of growth of the breast into and around the areola, and deficient growth of the remaining parts of the breast (fig. 1.). Lastly, the areola may become large and require reduction after breast augmentation (with implants) or some other breast operation which caused the areola to stretch.

A simple areola reduction can be done under local anesthesia, but it is most commonly done under general anesthesia administered by a board certified anesthesiologist. In order to uniformly reduce an areola, skin must be removed from the circumference of the areola. In other words, a circum-areolar reduction is performed by removing a ring of areolar skin from the perimeter of the areola. Once this ring is removed, the surgeon then needs to close the two circular edges of skin together; the outer larger edge is brought in a “purse-string” fashion towards the smaller inner circular edge. Several methods of simple “purse- string” areola reduction can be used, however, a permanent (non absorbable) suture is needed for this purpose in order to prevent widening of the areola after the healing phase.

Several causes exist for large areolas. Procedures to reduce the large areola can range from a simple “purse- string” circum-areola reduction to more complex methods used to either reduce the breast or lift the breast along with areola reduction. The actual method best suited for you will depend on many factors. Consult several plastic surgeons before you pick one to do this type of surgery. Ask to see before and after pictures, and check out his board certified status and experience with this procedure. Go with the guy (or woman) who really likes doing this kind of surgery in order to obtain your best result.


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