Male Nipple Reduction With a Simple Circular-Flap Technique

Abstract

Nipple shape is crucial to the aesthetic appearance of the entire breast. Nipple hypertrophy, caused by congenital or acquired factors, affects the overall shape of the breast, which may lead to a severe lack of self-confidence.1 Although it is relatively rare, male nipple hypertrophy has a serious psychological impact on patients. In most cases, male nipples are usually smaller in both diameter and projection than female. The purpose of nipple reduction is to reduce the diameter and height of the nipple by removing part of the tissue. Quite a few nipple reduction techniques have been reported for nipple hypertrophy.2-5 Marshall et al6 treated nipple hypertrophy by excision of central nipple tissue, Basile and Chang7 removed the core nipple tissue by forming a complex triangular flap, and Jin and Lee8 reduced the nipple diameter by wedge resection of the nipple tissue and by reducing the height using loop excision of the base skin. These surgical methods undoubtedly offer excellent outcomes. However, one problem is the relatively complex surgical design.3 Flaps were used in these techniques. It is more difficult to perform such complex surgical operations on a male nipple with a relatively small size. As reported below, an ideal surgical outcome was achieved in the treatment of male nipple hypertrophy in our center with the use of a simple circular-flap technique. Reducing the height of the nipple is also …