# Nipple and areola tattooing after breast surgery

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/nipple-areola-tattooing/  
OnCo record `nipple-areola-tattooing` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Tattooing colour onto a rebuilt breast to create the look of an areola and nipple, usually done some months after reconstruction is finished.

## Summary

Dorset NHS hospital patient information describes the procedure: "After breast and nipple reconstruction surgery, colour can be added to create a natural looking areola to your new breast(s)", using semi-permanent colour applied into the top layer of skin with a small hand-held machine. It may be done on a reconstructed nipple or, with shading, to give the appearance of a nipple on a flat surface (often called 3D tattooing). The colour fades and may need topping up.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: standard-of-care
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: Areola tattoo; Nipple tattoo; Medical micropigmentation; 3D nipple tattoo; Medical tattooing
- Tags: devices-gaps-2026-11
- Principle: Pigment is implanted into the superficial dermis with a hand-held machine, shaded to imitate the colour and projection of an areola and nipple.
- Strengths: Completes reconstruction without further surgery; Can be repeated as colour fades
- Limitations: Pigment fades and may need repeating; Less predictable on irradiated skin

## Sources

- Dorset County Hospital NHS: medical tattoos after breast surgery (patient leaflet): https://www.dgft.nhs.uk/pil/medical-tattoos-after-breast-surgery/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Breast cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-cancer/)
- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/), [Surgery & Interventional](https://onco.cc/fronts/surgery/)
- technologies: [Breast implants for reconstruction (silicone gel, saline and shaped cohesive gel)](https://onco.cc/technologies/breast-implants/), [Breast reconstruction: implant and autologous, immediate and delayed, and what women report afterwards](https://onco.cc/technologies/rejuv-recon-breast/), [External breast prostheses, mastectomy bras and nipple prostheses](https://onco.cc/technologies/external-breast-prostheses/)
- terms: [Breast reconstruction](https://onco.cc/terms/breast-reconstruction/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/nipple-areola-tattooing.json