Some patients are severely bothered by the size of their areolae. In a surgical correction procedure the outer edge of the areola is removed. If the skin were to be simply closed again using subcutaneous absorbable stitches, after a few months the diameter of the areola would again be just as large as it was before the procedure. A permanent circular stitch, called a purse-string, is therefore placed below the skin. After the operation, if you slide a finger from the nipple outwards, you will be able to feel this stitch at the edge of the areola. Normally people are unaware of it and no one is bothered by it.
Enclosing a large circle (the original diameter of the areola) in a smaller one (the new diameter), creates small folds in the skin. These, however, disappear over the course of two to three months.
The scar on the skin side usually heals very well and ultimately becomes a fine white line. If this is bothersome, for example because it contrasts too much with the dark colour of the areola, it can be coloured using permanent make-up.