Nipple Correction & Repair in Bellevue
Nipple correction is precise, small-scale surgery: releasing an inverted nipple, reducing an areola, or reshaping projection. Small in scope, large in how patients feel about the result.
The practice treats women and men, as a standalone procedure under local anesthesia or combined with other breast surgery.
Post-mastectomy nipple reconstruction and areola tattoo coordination complete the reconstructive side of this work.
Your surgeon
Dr. Kristopher Day is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery, and is fellowship-trained in craniofacial surgery.
Meet Dr. DayThe operation
Every consultation — and every operation — is with Dr. Day.
Everything here works on the nipple-areola complex, and the plan is built from four things: the degree of inversion, the size and position of the areola, your skin quality, and any breast surgery you have had before.
Inversion is graded one to three, and the grade drives the technique. It is released through a small incision at or just beneath the areolar border, sometimes with internal sutures placed to support the nipple in its new position. Milder grades can often be released while preserving the lactiferous ducts, which matters if future breastfeeding is a goal. A grade-three inversion is tethered more tightly and requires full release, which means dividing those ducts.
Areola reduction uses a purse-string technique at the areola border, tightening the circumference without moving the nipple. Excess projection is reduced with a small wedge taken from the nipple itself. In complex reconstructive cases, composite grafting is an option.
Most corrections take forty-five minutes to two hours. Standalone procedures run under local anesthesia with light sedation; when correction joins an augmentation, lift, or reduction, it folds into that operation's general anesthetic and adds no separate recovery.
What gets corrected
These are distinct problems with distinct fixes, and more than one can be addressed in the same sitting.
Inverted nipple
The nipple sits below the surface, either permanently or when cold or touched. Released through a small incision at the areolar border, with the grade deciding whether the milk ducts can be preserved.
Enlarged areola
The areola is wider than you want it, often after pregnancy, weight change, or breast surgery. A purse-string closure at the border reduces the circumference and leaves the scar in the color transition.
Excess projection
The nipple projects further than you would like, sometimes visibly through clothing. A small wedge of tissue is removed to reduce it.
Asymmetry
The two sides differ in size, projection, or position. Each is planned against the other rather than treated in isolation.
Reconstruction after mastectomy
Building a new nipple-areola complex once the breast mound is complete. Projection is created surgically, and colour is restored afterward with medical areola tattooing, coordinated as the closing stage of reconstruction.
Is it right for you
If an inverted, asymmetric, or prominent nipple bothers you, this is among the smallest operations in plastic surgery with one of the most direct results. Candidates are in good general health, at or near a stable weight, and clear about what a small operation can and cannot change.
Tell Dr. Day if breastfeeding is in your future. Duct preservation is grade-dependent, and honesty about the trade-off is part of the consultation. A grade-three release sacrifices the ducts, and you should decide that knowingly rather than discover it later.
Pregnancy, significant weight change, and ordinary aging all alter the breast over time and can change the result. That is an argument for timing the procedure once your body is where it is likely to stay, not an argument against having it.
Recovery
Recovery is short: most patients return to normal routines within days. Scars are small, placed at the areola border where the change in colour and texture conceals them, and they fade over six to twelve months with the scar care the office provides.
Inversion correction carries a small risk that the nipple retracts again, and the risk varies with the grade and the technique used. It is uncommon after a full release, and it is discussed openly before you decide rather than mentioned afterward.
Preparation is simple but real: no blood thinners or blood-thinning supplements for two weeks, no smoking for four, lab work if it is needed, and a driver arranged for surgery day.
How the weeks before and after surgery fit together is covered in the practice's recovery guide.
Questions, answered
The rest belong in a conversation. Consultations are unhurried by design.
Can I still breastfeed after correction?
It depends on the inversion grade. Milder grades can often be corrected with duct-preserving technique; full release of a grade-three inversion sacrifices the ducts. The trade-off is explained plainly before you decide.
What anesthesia is used?
Standalone corrections are done under local anesthesia with light sedation. When correction is combined with other breast surgery, it simply joins that operation.
Will the correction last?
Areola and projection changes are lasting. Inversion correction carries a small risk that the nipple retracts again, which varies with the grade and the technique used — uncommon after a full release, but real, and discussed with you beforehand. Pregnancy, weight change, and aging can also alter the breast over time.
What does nipple correction actually cover?
Inverted nipples, areolas that are larger than you want, nipples that project more than you would like, asymmetry between the two sides, and nipple reconstruction after mastectomy. More than one can be addressed in the same session.
How is an inverted nipple released?
Through a small incision at or just beneath the areolar border. The tethering beneath the nipple is divided so it can sit out, and internal sutures are sometimes placed to support the new position. How much has to be released depends on the grade.
Do you perform nipple reconstruction after mastectomy?
Yes, as the final stage of breast reconstruction once the breast mound is complete. Projection is built surgically, and colour is restored afterward with medical areola tattooing, coordinated through the practice.
Will there be visible scars?
Incisions sit at the areola border where texture and color change naturally conceal them. They fade over six to twelve months.
Do you treat men?
Yes. Nipple and areola concerns are not exclusive to women, and the techniques adapt directly.
Is it covered by insurance?
Cosmetic correction typically is not. Reconstruction components after mastectomy are covered as part of reconstruction. The office gives you a straight answer for your case before anything is scheduled.
How much does nipple correction cost?
Correction starts from $3,000, quoted in writing at consultation — and when it joins another breast operation, it is priced as part of that plan. CareCredit and Alphaeon financing are available.
Financing OptionsCan it be combined with other procedures?
Easily — correction is often folded into an augmentation, lift, or reduction with no separate recovery of its own.