Areola restoration is a cosmetic treatment that can help women and men restore the appearance of their breasts after surgery. It can also help improve their body image and self-esteem.
There are many different ways to reconstruct the nipple and areola after breast reconstruction surgery. The suitable method depends on your body shape and size, cancer treatment, and preferences.
What is Areola Restoration?
Areola restoration is a cosmetic tattooing procedure that can help women and men regain a sense of self-confidence after breast reconstruction surgery. It also reduces or camouflages scars left behind by certain surgeries.
Nipple and areola reconstruction is a standard part of breast reconstructive surgery that replaces lost tissue with skin grafts from other body parts. However, this is not always an option for women with a history of breast cancer.
Fortunately, several medical tattooing procedures can recreate the appearance of an areola and nipple. Some of these methods use 3D shadows and highlights to create an illusion of a raised nipple.
Areola restoration, repigmentation, and scar camouflage are all procedures that certified permanent cosmetics artists can perform. During these procedures, a technician can darken or adjust the size and color of an areola to match other areas of a woman’s breast.
How Does Areola Restoration Work?
The areola is a vital breast tissue component that contributes to the breast’s symmetry and shape. The loss can negatively impact a woman’s self-image when lost due to trauma, surgery, or even a benign tumor.
When a woman undergoes breast reconstruction, she can rebuild a nipple that matches her new breast mound in size, shape, texture, and color. A nipple is usually made from the patient’s skin, although it can be created with a skin flap or graft.
During the areola restoration process, the surgeon at Laguna Med Spa will use micropigmentation technology to tattoo small amounts of colored ink into the skin of the areola. The nipple is then wrapped in a bolster dressing and protected from the elements for a few days following surgery. It’s not uncommon for a nipple to retract or flatten over time, but the best part is that it won’t be visible to the naked eye.
What Are the Benefits of Areola Restoration?
After significant breast surgery, patients may want to have their areola and nipple reconstructed or tattooed as a final touch to their reconstructive breast surgeries. Areola restoration is an essential step in healing and can boost your self-esteem after breast reconstruction surgery.
The procedure involves using skin from a different body part to reshape the nipple and areola. For example, surgeons can use skin from the chest mound, thigh, stomach, or buttocks to form the nipple.
A surgeon can graft skin from the upper inner thigh for the areola. The skin from this area tends to heal darker and provides a good areola color match.
Tattooing is another option to reshape the areola, but it is often used with skin grafting. The tattooing process uses intradermal pigments to create a realistic image of the areola.
Areola Restoration Costs
Areola restoration is a permanent cosmetic procedure that recreates perfectly symmetrical and naturally colored nipples. It’s a fantastic option for women who have undergone breast reconstruction or mastectomy.
There are several different methods of areola construction, and the cost can vary greatly depending on what your provider uses to reconstruct your nipple. A skin flap technique is often used, and a skin graft can also be utilized.
When surgeons use the skin graft technique, they may create a nipple from the tissue on your breast mound, but it’s also possible to make a nipple from the skin from another part of your body.
For the most part, nipple, and areola restoration is performed about three to six months after primary breast reconstruction (mastectomy or lumpectomy). It is so that the nipples can heal properly and the post-operative swelling can subside.
