Is the Nipple Always Removed During Nipple Surgery?

The nipple/areolar complex is rarely 'removed' during breast reduction or lift. With current techniques for breast reduction and lift, the nipple areolar complex is kept attached to the underlying breast tissue to provide blood supply. The surrounding skin is removed and tailored. Rarely would a 'free' nipple graft be performed, perhaps in a very large, pendulous reduction or in a situation where the blood supply is compromised.

With modern breast lifts and reductions, the nipple is almost never removed.
Rather, it is repositioned, still attached to the tissues underneath it that supply it with blood supply and nerve supply.
Removing of the nipple has become more an emergency maneuver if blood supply becomes compromised during the surgery, occasionally in extreme breast reductions.