Areola reduction in Turkey

Because of who you are and what your body has done, in roughly that order. Areola width is largely inherited, it increases through puberty, and it increases again during pregnancy and breastfeeding, when the skin stretches and the pigment deepens. Some of that reverses after weaning and some of it does not. Weight gain and larger breast volume both stretch the areola outward, and the skin does not always return.

One side being larger than the other is also ordinary. Breasts are not symmetrical in most people, and the areola follows the breast it sits on. A difference you can see in the mirror is common enough that surgeons treat matching the two sides as a goal rather than an expectation.

• Wide but otherwise unchanged

  The usual reason people ask about this. Nothing is wrong, nothing is progressing, and surgery is a cosmetic choice rather than a treatment for anything.

• Widened after pregnancy or weight loss

  The breast skin has stretched and the areola stretched with it. Here the areola is usually part of a larger picture, and lifting the breast is what actually changes the look.

• Getting bigger recently in one breast only

  A change on one side that you did not expect deserves a doctor rather than a surgeon. New asymmetry, skin change, discharge or a lump is examined first and discussed cosmetically later.

• Bumps around the rim

  The small raised dots on the areola are Montgomery glands and they are normal anatomy present in everyone. They are not related to areola size and they are not removed by this operation.

If the breast itself sits low, see breast lift or breast reduction. For a nipple that turns inward rather than an areola that is wide, see inverted nipple surgery.

1. 1

   Consultation and marking

   The surgeon measures both sides, marks the new circle with you sitting up, and shows you where the scar will run. Ask to see the marks before you agree to anything.
2. 2

   Anaesthetic

   Often local anaesthetic with or without sedation when it is done alone, and general anaesthetic when it is combined with a lift or reduction.
3. 3

   Removing the outer ring

   A ring of pigmented skin is taken from the outside edge of the areola. The nipple and its blood supply stay attached to the breast underneath.
4. 4

   The purse-string closure

   A permanent stitch is run around the new border like a drawstring and tightened to the planned size. That stitch is what resists the areola stretching back out.
5. 5

   The first weeks

   Dressings, a soft supportive bra and no lifting or upper-body training. The scar usually looks its worst somewhere in the first months before it starts to settle.
6. 6

   A year of scar maturation

   Areolar scars fade slowly. Judge the result at a year, not at a month, and expect the line to remain visible at close range.

• Anyone whose real complaint is the breast, not the areola. Shape, position and volume are not fixed by a smaller circle of skin.
• Anyone planning a pregnancy soon. Pregnancy and breastfeeding widen and darken the areola again, so most surgeons suggest waiting.
• Anyone who forms thick or raised scars. If you already know your skin does this, the trade being offered here is a poor one and you should say so at the consultation.
• Anyone who cannot accept a visible line. There is no version of this operation without a scar at the areolar border. That is the price of the smaller circle.
• Anyone whose asymmetry is new. A recent one-sided change is investigated medically before it is treated cosmetically.

• Whether it is done alone or with a lift or reduction. The largest single factor, because the combined operation is a different procedure with a different theatre time.
• The anaesthetic. Local with sedation and general anaesthetic are priced differently and involve different levels of monitoring.
• Hospital or clinic setting. Day case in a clinic and an overnight in a hospital are not the same product, and the paperwork should say which you are buying.
• Whether one side or both. A single-side correction for asymmetry is quoted differently from a matched pair.
• What aftercare is included. Dressings, suture removal, garments and how many review appointments are covered before you fly home.

The clinic listing on this page shows each clinic's current price with a note of what it covers. For instalments, see payment plans. For the breast itself rather than the areola, see breast lift and breast reduction.

• American Society of Plastic Surgeons, patient information on breast lift and nipple and areola procedures.
• British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, patient guidance on breast surgery and scarring.
• NHS, information on breast changes and when to see a doctor.
• Turkish Ministry of Health, register of facilities licensed for health tourism.