What to do if nipples are sunken?

Some women have sunken nipples, which is clinically called inverted nipples. It is mainly divided into two types: congenital and acquired. The congenital type is what we often call maldevelopment, while the acquired type is caused by some bad bra wearing habits or diseases. So what should we do if the nipple is sunken? Acquired ones are generally treated conservatively. If there is no effect, surgical correction should be considered. I hope everyone can gain some understanding from the following content.

Conservative treatment options include:

1. Nipple stretching exercises. Place your thumbs parallel to each other on both sides of the nipples, and slowly pull them apart to pull the areola and subcutaneous tissue to make the nipples protrude outward. Place the thumbs of both hands on the upper and lower sides of the nipple respectively, and pull vertically from the nipple up and down. This exercise can be repeated several times, with each exercise lasting 5 to 10 minutes, to make the nipple protrude. Then pinch the nipple with your index finger and thumb and gently rotate and pull it outward several times.

2. Syringe aspiration method. Take two disposable syringes with a capacity of 20 ml, remove the piston of one of them, and connect the two syringes with a 10 cm long infusion tube. Place the end of the aspirator without a piston over the sunken nipple, and suck the injection piston at the other end to create negative pressure in the empty cylinder and suck out the nipple. The suction pressure depends on the patient's feeling and the protrusion condition, and is generally appropriate when there is no pain. Maintain negative pressure for more than 5 minutes (the longer you maintain it, the less likely the nipple will retract).

3. Breast pump with negative pressure suction. Used for breast enlargement and inverted nipples during lactation. It can also be used by those with congenital inverted nipples.

Surgical correction should be performed by the breast surgery department of a regular large hospital.

Common surgical procedures include:

1. This surgery preserves the mammary ducts and is suitable for patients with mild, moderate or severe degrees of mammary duct depression. Before the operation, use a cotton swab dipped in hydrogen peroxide and saline to carefully clean the depressed area to reduce the chance of surgical infection, and perform local infiltration anesthesia at the base of the nipple.

2. Mammary duct cutting surgery can be used for women who have already given birth and do not plan to breastfeed in the future, or for patients with recurrent local inflammation and severe scar traction and deformity. The treatment before and after surgery is the same as the above method. During the operation, the scar at the base of the nipple is removed, and any inflammatory mass is also removed. Completely cut off the breast duct, fully release the inverted nipple, and design a tissue flap to fill the tissue defect at the root of the nipple.

This operation is usually performed under local anesthesia. There are many different surgical procedures, which can be selected according to the specific situation. The operation is performed within the areola. The operation is minor and will not leave obvious surgical scars. Under normal circumstances, the sensory nerves of the nipple will not be damaged, so the normal sensation of the nipple will not be hindered after the operation. The surgery generally does not damage the milk ducts, so it will not cause lactation problems.

One breast is high while the other is relatively flat or even as flat as a man's? Many adolescent girls, accompanied by their mothers, shyly go to the doctor for consultation. In fact, they don't know that it is impossible for every woman's breasts to be the same size. However, if there is an obvious visual difference in size, it belongs to the category of abnormal breast development and needs to be consulted by a doctor.

Is it a defect for women to have different breast sizes?

There are indeed differences between the two breasts of a mature woman, with the left breast generally larger than the right, but it is difficult to distinguish visually and can only be discovered through careful measurement. So this is not pathological. Experts explained this. The phenomenon of inconsistent breast size has no effect on fertility and sexual function, nor does it have any adverse effects on health.

For many girls, the left and right breasts develop at different speeds during adolescence. This is normal. When they mature, the two breasts will be the same size. However, after adulthood, if the size difference between the two breasts is particularly large, you should go for a check-up. It is worth noting that this does not apply to asymmetric breasts caused by sagging of one breast due to improper breastfeeding habits.

Why do breasts vary in size?

There are many reasons why young women may have one breast larger than the other, which may be physiological or pathological, temporary or permanent. If it is purely physiological, the breasts on both sides will gradually become symmetrical as they mature.

Congenital inverted nipples may affect sexual function

Clinically, it has been found that many girls have inverted nipples, which is also an abnormality of breast development. However, inverted nipples are very harmful: they hinder breast fitness and affect breast health. Due to the inverted nipples, the nipples are often forcibly pulled out during breastfeeding, which can easily cause damage, rupture and bleeding, which can cause infection of the nipples and even the entire breast, and eventually lead to mastitis.

In addition, since nipples are particularly important sexual sensitive points for women, many women achieve sexual function through nipple stimulation. Once the nipples become inverted, it is difficult to provide effective sexual stimulation and may even affect the man's sexual function.

I hope that women with sunken nipples can correct them in time according to the above methods, and do not rush to undergo surgical treatment. If conservative treatment is possible, try it first. If there is no therapeutic effect, then consider surgical treatment. There are currently three main surgical correction methods. The specific method to choose is determined based on the patient's chest depression. The chest will return to normal after the operation.