IntroductionBoth men and women have been equipped with breasts and nipples, but only the ones belonging to the women have generated an enormous interest, either through sex, fashion or health issues.Everybody knows that the main role of women’s breasts is to feed the baby with the milk produced by the mammary glands during the lactation period. Men, despite the fact that they also have a mammary gland, don’t have a function similar to women’s. Moreover, from an aesthetic point of view, women with big breasts are seen as feminine while men with overly large breasts are seen as less masculine.In both men and women, the size, shape, and elevation of the breasts have always been something that has concerned individuals. Today we are going to discuss about a few things you might not know about nipples and breasts. Neither the breasts nor the nipples are not perfectly identical. This is perfectly normal. For many women, the left breast is a bit bigger than the right breast. In medical terms, this small or significant variation is called asymmetry. In some cases, the asymmetry will become more visible when the breasts are developing, and it might get better when the growing has finished. For many women, this asymmetry is not noticeable, not even for the woman herself. However, there are others who suffer from a severe asymmetry that can only be corrected with the help of plastic surgery. Breast reduction, breast augmentation, or breast lift surgery can correct a potential accentuated symmetry. It is always recommended for the patient to wait until her breasts are fully developed before undergoing plastic surgery to correct this issue. It is also important to mention that plastic surgery can’t correct any type of breast asymmetry, especially if the problem is caused by malformations on the chest wall. The best way to find out if plastic surgery can help you get better looking and more symmetrical breasts is to schedule an appointment with the plastic surgeon.Both men and women have nipples even from the embryonic stage. Under the action of the hormone called testosterone, changes occur in the genetic activity of the cells in the genital area and the brain. In males, the testosterone determines the secretion of certain substances that stop the development of feminine characteristics. When the testosterone level in the body is right, the male body will have a flat chest with small nipples. But there are cases in which the testosterone is low and the overdevelopment of the male breasts occurs. While this condition can be temporary, once the man has reached adulthood and is still confronted with overly large breasts, the only help comes from plastic surgery. The intervention is called gynecomastia and requires the excision of the skin, fat and mammary gland tissue that is in excess to improve the aspect of the patient’s chest. Feminine-looking breasts in men can also occur later on in life as the fat accumulates in the area and the testosterone level drops. In some cases, liposuction can be a good solution to correct this aesthetic imperfection.The breast size and shape change multiple times during our lives. There is an impressive amount of factors that can influence the characteristics of our breasts. With aging, sagginess of the breasts can occur that can only be treated with a breast lift surgery. The larger breasts tend to sag sooner than smaller breasts. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, the breasts can increase their size quite significantly. The process is natural as this happens because the mammary gland prepares for lactation. You will notice that immediately after breastfeeding, the breasts will look smaller, somehow deflated, and less hard than before a breastfeeding session. In the ideal case, after breastfeeding has stopped, the breasts should return to their previous size and shape. However, in a vast majority of cases, this does not happen, and the breasts lose their beautiful shape, start sagging or remain overly big. To correct these issues, we can use the breast augmentation procedure or, alternatively, breast lift or breast reduction. The breast lift intervention is probably the most frequently performed cosmetic procedure after pregnancy or significant weight loss.During weight loss and weight gain, the breasts suffer transformations too with the rest of our bodies. The breasts are made out of a skin envelope, fat tissue, and mammary gland. The adipose tissue will increase its volume when we put on weight, and it will decrease in size when we lose weight.The only method to improve the size of the breasts is through plastic surgery. Many people still tend to believe that certain so-called “natural” methods will increase the size of the breasts. Dill capsules, olive oil, estrogen pills, special massages, etc. are ineffective when it comes to augmenting the breasts in a safe manner and with long-lasting results. Even if some of the products on the market can determine a mild increase in the size of the breast due to their estrogen content, the side effects can be extremely damaging to the patient’s health, not to mention that the augmentation will only last for as long as the patient takes the pills. The only “natural” method to enhance your breasts and add more volume is the fat transfer to the breasts. This procedure is recommended for patients who want to benefit from a breast augmentation but at the same time want to avoid the specific complications that might occur due to the use of breast implants. The increase in size achieved with the help of fat transfer is not considerable, so patients who want to gain more than two bra cups during the intervention are advised to try breast implants. Many plastic surgeons also use fat transfer to the breasts to correct certain asymmetries or complementary to the breast augmentation with implant surgery to improve the shape of the breasts. The procedure has the main advantage of sculpting more than one area of your body. Even if the main purpose of the procedure is to add volume to the breasts, the fat needed for the transfer needs to be harvested from one or multiple areas of the body. For this we use liposuction. Hence the donor areas are also improved and better-looking after surgery due to the decrease in the thickness of the adipose layer.The position, size, and shape of the nipple and areola complex can be adjusted with plastic surgery. Many people don’t know that with the help of plastic surgery, we can correct imperfections in the nipples and areolas. Some women don’t like being left with enlarged areola or big nipples after breastfeeding. It is important for them to know that these features of the breasts can be corrected, even without undergoing a breast enhancement procedure that would change the size and shape of the whole breast. Many plastic surgeons will perform these interventions with the patient under local anesthetic and on an outpatient basis. Breast enhancement procedures can cause changes in breast sensitivity. In a vast majority of cases, the changes are temporary and will subside on their own during the first three to six months after the surgery. But there is also a possibility for them to become permanent. The changes in sensitivity are caused by the damage of the nerves that occurs during surgery when the tissues are sectioned. The more complex the surgery, the higher the chance for the nerves to be injured. Also, this can happen when the patient gets inserted implants that are too big for her anatomy. Another rule of thumb is that the bigger the implants, the more complications they can trigger. ConclusionWhile we have been fascinated with breasts probably since the beginning of time, there are still things that might be unknown for many people. Breast asymmetries are more common than you can imagine. Moreover, we can say that the symmetry between a woman’s breasts is a rare occurrence and not the norm. In some cases, the asymmetry is noticeable while in others only the plastic surgeon will be able to draw attention to this aspect, usually before a breast enhancement procedure. It is important to keep in mind the plastic surgery has the answer for many of the aesthetic issues of the breasts. However, cosmetic surgery also has its limitations.Enlarged male breasts are considered a feature that can alter the masculinity of the man. Hence plastic surgery comes to the rescue with procedures such as gynecomastia and even liposuction that can be performed on the breasts.The breasts, as well as the nipple and areola complex, can change during our lives and this is one of the reasons why so many people seek help from plastic surgery interventions such as breast augmentation, breast reduction and breast lift.