Free nipple areolar graft reduction mammaplasty

Abstract

Free nipple graft reduction mammaplasty describes a breast reduction technique in which the nipple-areolar complex (NAC) is transposed as a free graft to ensure its viability and to minimize complications. With advances in surgical techniques coupled with a better understanding of the vascular anatomy of the breast and the NAC, the limits at which free nipple grafting is preferred over transposition on a pedicle have been pushed further and further. However, it is still an operation that many surgeons turn to when faced with uncertainty over the viability of the NAC. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.