Patient's question:
I have inverted nipples. Will it affect my ability to breastfeed my child in the future if I don't get a plastic surgery at the hospital?Doctor's answer:
Hello, here are some treatment methods for inverted nipples, hoping to be helpful to you. Inverted nipples can first be treated conservatively. First, it is important to frequently clean the nipples and maintain local hygiene to prevent infection. Because scars caused by infection can block the openings of the milk ducts, and scar contraction can also worsen the deformity. Wear a suitable, loose bra to avoid pressure on the nipples and further exacerbate the inversion. Regularly use your hands to pull, stretch, massage, or use a breast pump for negative pressure suction, several times a day, to gradually protrude the nipples. When conservative treatment is ineffective, surgical treatment can be performed. This nipple inversion correction surgery is not complex and is performed under local anesthesia. Plastic surgeons choose appropriate surgical methods based on the different conditions of the inverted nipples to correct them, and the surgical results are generally quite ideal. The nipple contains 10~20 milk ducts, which open at the tip of the nipple to provide milk for the baby to suck. Why do nipples invert and not protrude? It is due to the pulling effect of some shortened fibrous bundles between the milk ducts in the nipple. During surgery, an incision is made around the areola to reach under the nipple, and these fibrous bundles that pull the nipple are completely loosened and cut. After the constraints on the nipple are released, it can stand up and protrude. Then, through local plastic surgery, a new nipple is shaped that does not affect breastfeeding function and is aesthetically pleasing. When loosening these shortened fibrous bundles, neither the milk ducts should be damaged or cut, nor should they be loosened completely. If the loosening is not thorough, the nipple may retract again after surgery.