Nipples which point inwards rather than outwards may be present from birth or may be secondary to pathology within the breast. The development of new nipple inversion in one breast only should be investigated by a breast surgeon in the first instance.
Inverted nipples may compromise the aesthetics of the breasts and it is a relatively straightforward to correct surgically. Surgery is generally performed under local anaesthesia and involves restoring the projection by releasing of the short breast ducts behind the nipple itself, and then fixing the position with sutures.
In the long term, scars on the nipple tend to fade and become inconspicuous. Nipple inversion surgery usually produces good long-term correction, but women having this procedure should not expect to breast feed afterwards.