What do I need to pay attention to for nipple inversion correction?

  Inverted nipples are common in clinical practice and refer to the nipple sinking into the areola. Congenital nipple invagination can gradually become apparent with pubertal development. Some women have flat or invaginated nipples that not only lose the appearance of upright nipples, but also easily harbor dirt causing retrograde infection, leading to recurrent episodes of plasmacytoid mastitis and even tumors. Severe nipple invagination can also affect the baby’s ability to suckle milk and cause mastitis during breastfeeding.  The degree of nipple invagination varies, some nipples are only partially invaginated, the nipple neck is still present, and the invaginated nipple can be squeezed out by hand; some nipples are completely immersed in the areola and can still be squeezed out by hand; in severe nipple invagination, the nipple is completely buried under the areola and the nipple cannot be squeezed out by hand.  The etiology of nipple invagination is mostly congenital, with shortened and stunted ducts or fibrous bundles pulling on the inside of the invagination. The tissue below the nipple is empty and lacks the tissue support to maintain its normal shape. Recurrent inflammation, trauma or tumor pulling in the nipple areola can sometimes cause nipple invagination, and the latter secondary causes of nipple invagination should be carefully examined to exclude tumor possibilities.  The treatment of nipple invagination can depend on the age of the patient, the degree of invagination, and the requirement for breastfeeding. Before treatment, the degree of nipple invagination should be determined, and for milder cases, a negative pressure suction device should be considered to pull the nipple several times a day for 30 minutes each time, until the appearance is corrected. If this does not work, surgical correction is generally available instead.  (a) According to the requirement of unmarried infertile women to preserve the function of breastfeeding, surgery to preserve the ducts of the breast is used. Under local anesthesia 1, subcutaneous buried wire method at the root of the invaginated nipple, the load tightens the nipple neck to lift the nipple.  In more serious cases, a partial subcutaneous prismatic excision of the skin around the areola of the sunken nipple is performed to completely loosen and cut off the shortened fiber bundle, preserve the milk ducts, perform circular purse-string suturing around the base to prevent the nipple from retracting again, pull the nipple to fix it, and suture the prismatic skin excision area around it to form a new prominent nipple, so that the congenital lack of tissue can be supplemented to make the shape more plump and beautiful.  (b) For women who have given birth and are not considering breastfeeding in the future or for patients with recurrent local inflammation and severely sunken scar-drawn nipples, the twin fibers and scar at the base of the nipple can be removed during surgery and the breast ducts can be completely or partially cut off to more fully loosen the sunken nipples, and the nipple can be fixed under external traction for 5 days after surgery for a better appearance.