Nummular nipple hypertrophy and repair as part of an aesthetic nipple-areola unit.

The author suggests that an aesthetically pleasing ratio between nipple and areola diameter exists which should always be taken in consideration during nipple and areola reconstruction. In a study of 40 nipple-areola complexes of 20 healthy, nulliparous, Caucasian female volunteers with a mean age of 25.5 years, the average nipple diameter measured 28% of the areola diameter, that is, a ratio of 1:3.6. A hitherto undescribed form of macrothelia is presented in which the nipple width rather than the projection (length) is increased. A successful technique for reconstruction is described, based on the new method of assessing the aesthetic relations within the nipple-areola complex and known anatomy.