The collective term for nipple and areola is the nipple areolar complex (NAC). The ideal NAC position will obviously vary from patient to patient depending on the size and shape of the breast, chest wall and height of the patient.
Despite this, there are some general rules of that thumb that state that the NAC should sit halfway up the breast vertically and just marginally to the outside of the middle of the breast in the horizontal plane. The NAC should sit above the fold of the breast (this is where the breast meets the chest wall at the bottom of the breast and is called the inframammary fold).
The collective term for nipple and areola is the nipple areolar complex (NAC). The ideal NAC position will obviously vary from patient to patient depending on the size and shape of the breast, chest wall and height of the patient.
Despite this, there are some general rules of that thumb that state that the NAC should sit halfway up the breast vertically and just marginally to the outside of the middle of the breast in the horizontal plane. The NAC should sit above the fold of the breast (this is where the breast meets the chest wall at the bottom of the breast and is called the inframammary fold).
In a youthful breast the above description of NAC position is true, however with age the female breast changes. With time and also pregnancy, breast feeding and weight fluctuations breast sagginess (ptosis) may develop.
The degree of ptosis is generally discussed in terms of the relative position of the NAC to the inframmary fold:
• MILD; the NAC is at the level of the inframammary fold
• MODERATE; the NAC is between the fold and the lowest part of the breast
• PROGRESSIVE; the NAC is at the lowest part of the breast
Sometimes the NAC is in the correct position above or at the fold but the breast tissue sags well below the fold. This is termed pseudopstosis.
The treatment for ptosis depends on its severity.
Treatment may include breast augmentation alone, breast lift (mastopexy) alone, or breast reduction alone or a combination of all three. Breast augmentation involves the surgical placement of a correctly sized Motiva cohesive gel silicone breast implant or with fat taken from another part of the body following liposuction.
