Will Breast Augmentation Stretch the Areola Permanently?

Hi there-
You should expect your nipple/areola complexes to stretch a minor amount with breast augmentation, as will (obviously) the skin of the rest of your breast.
In the vast majority of patients the nipples remain in good proportion to the breast, and because the breast enlarges more than the nipple, patients who before surgery thought their nipples/areolas were too large, find them in BETTER proportion after surgery- so I'm not sure where your boyfriend is looking...
Find a surgeon you like first- and ask to see photos of their work. This should not be something that causes you regret with your augmentation.

Thank you for your question. Breast augmentation surgery will potentially permanently stretch the nipple-areolar complex, and the amount of stretching depends somewhat on the size of the implant placed. The nipples should not stay hard all the time. 

Minimal stretching of the areolas probably occurs to
some degree in the majority of breast augmentation patients. This stretching in
the presence of enlarged breasts following breast augmentation may not even be
noticed by the average patient. However, in some cases this stretching can be significant and extremely bothersome to patients.

Several factors are associated with areola stretching.
These include large implant size, sub glandular implant position, and poor
patient skin tone. When large implants are used in a sub glandular position
stretching of the areola is more likely. The elasticity of the patient’s skin
is also important. Patients with poor elasticity are more likely to have
stretching of their areolas. Also when patients undergo simultaneous breast
lift procedures, stretching of the areola is more likely as well.

The best way to avoid areola stretching is to avoid
these risk factors. Whenever possible smaller implants placed in a submuscular
position should be utilized.

It’s not unusual for patients to have extremely
prominent nipples following breast augmentation surgery. This usually resolves
over the course of two to three months and doesn’t usually represent a long
term problem.

If you’re concerned about this issue consultation with a
board certified plastic surgeon is appropriate. This surgeon should be able to
make an appropriate recommendation. 

In general, if one does not do an out of dimension breast augmentation (excessively large breast implants), the stretching of the areola is not significant.

It has also been my observation that patients who undergo a relatively signficant change in breast volume (more than 1 cup), experience an enlarged areola. Although the nipples are initially more firm and prominent, they tend to settle back to their baseline by 6-9 months after surgery. Please note that enlargement of the areola occurs with pregnancy as well with the average pre-nursing areola measuring about 35mm and the post partum areola averaging 42mm.