Typically though it is used in patients who have had breast reconstruction following mastectomy for breast cancer.
The surgery itself can take one to two hours depending on the technique used. Typically the nipple itself is recreated with a flap of local tissue on the reconstructed breast mound. This is called a skate flap and it involves moving flaps of tissue around to recreate a prominence that looks just like a nipple. The areola itself can then be reconstructed in a variety of ways. First, areola tissue from the contralateral normal side can be used to skin graft around the nipple thereby recreating a very realistic appearing made from the patient’s own areolar tissue but if that tissue is not available other skin grafts can be used such as from groin crease or from the labia. Easier ways to reconstruct very realistic appearing areola can be to tattoo the skin surrounding the nipple.