What Do I Need to Consider when Having the Areola Tattooed?

Question

After skin sparing mastectomy with nipple reconstruction and tram flap procedure, my entire areolar complex was sacrificed. The original tatoo from three years ago has faded and become mottled. My surgeon no longer offers tatooing in his practice and has no recommendations.

Christopher V. Pelletiere, MD · Answer

It is not uncommon for a nipple/areola tattoo to fade with time aftera breast reconstruction. Alot of women need to have a touch-up tattoo every few years to maintain the color, shape, etc. If your surgeon no longer performs this procedure, I recommend going to the american society of plastic surgery website ( plasticsurgery.org) and finding a board certified plastic surgeon in your area that id very comfortable with breast reconstruction and niple/areola tattooing. I hope this helps.

Vivek Bansal, MD · Answer

You should find a person, preferably a nurse who specializes in this and seek them out.  Find a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in the area and see if they know of someone who can do this service.

Paul Gill, MD · Answer

It is very common to require 2-3 applications to get an appropriate result with areola tattooing. If tattooing does not give you the result you desire, you may be a candidate for a full thicknesss skin graft from a pigmented area to provide a nicer result. The downside to this is the risk associated with a donor site scar and whether the skin graft will take. I wish you a safe and healthy recovery.

What Do I Need to Consider when Having the Areola Tattooed?

Answers (3)