Puffy Nipples: Little Tissue, Big Issue
Men can have puffy nipples just like women can. The term usually refers to a nipple/areola complex that sticks out, dome like, from the rest of the breast. The cause is most often the same whether the patient is male or female: a small nub of breast gland tissue centered just below the nipple/areola.
The similarities between male and female puffy nipples end at the physical, however. While some women feel unhappy with protruding nipples and seek cosmetic surgery, many view them as the natural variation in shape they really are. And most women discover their partners find puffy nipples unremarkable or even appealing.
For men, however, puffy nipples can be as difficult to live with as full-blown cases of enlarged breasts. We find those who come in for a gynecomastia consult usually fall into one of two groups:
- Ordinary guys whose chest looks relatively normal except for cone-shaped nipples that protrude significantly. These men avoid going shirtless at all costs, and even in a t-shirt it can be difficult to disguise the bumps. Teasing can be a real issue for these patients. It’s common for guys to pinch and ice their nipples to shrink them temporarily, and some actually use tape to try to flatten them.
- Bodybuilders who work hard to achieve masculine contours, only to see them marred by feminine looking nipples/areolas. Most of these guys with unwanted breast tissue have very little body fat, so oftentimes the excess tissue is localized just under the nipple, causing the puffy nipple look.
Plastic surgery to remove the offending breast tissue is not an extensive procedure, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. The challenge is to excise just the right amount of gland. Overaggressive surgery can result in a crater deformity—a round depression in the middle of the breast that looks unnatural and is difficult to correct.
The surgeon must also evaluate the areolas to determine whether they can shrink on their own after underlying tissue is removed. Often, skin around the nipple must also be treated so there’s no excess after surgery.
For these reasons, guys who want to do something about puffy nipples should seek the services of a board certified plastic surgeon with plenty of experience handling a variety of cases of gynecomastia. The surgeon must have the skills to perform the delicate procedure, and he or she should have enough cases of puffy nipples to their credit to project how chests will look after the healing process.
