Some patients request that their nipples and areolas be removed from their chest during top surgery. The option to have no nipples is common in patients who wish to have a chest without them or who would prefer to have 3D, hyper realistic nipples tattooed onto their chest to avoid dealing with the recovery protocols and potential complications associated with nipple grafting.

Nipple grafting is the most commonly selected option for top surgery patients. Grafting gives the surgeon the most control over repositioning and resizing the patient’s areolas and/or nipples. Likewise, this option is ideal for patients who wish to maximize chest flatness. However, grafting often results in patients losing heightened, erotic nipple sensation. Thanks to our surgeon’s high levels of experience, 98% of GCC’s nipple grafting is successful, meaning the grafted nipple survives the recovery process. This usually results in the nipple having the same level of sensation of the surrounding skin.

Nipple sparing involves keeping the original nipple in-tact and attached to the pedicle: its original blood and nerve supply. This option has the highest probability of preserving heightened or erotic nipple sensation, though it often means complete chest flatness cannot be achieved. Read more about pedicle preservation in breast reductions here.