Tips To Reduce Cosmetic Surgery Scars
Some scarring may be inevitable after cosmetic surgery, but there are things that you can do to promote healing and minimize scarring.
1. Select Your Plastic Surgeon With Care
This is the first and most important step. An experienced and skilled surgeon will take care to make the most precise incisions and to conceal them whenever possible. Your cosmetic surgeon’s technique for closing any wounds and the type of closures they use can impact the appearance of your scars. Be sure to discuss your concerns regarding scarring at your pre-surgery consultation and ask your doctor how they approach scar reduction during the plastic surgery procedure.
2. Manage Your Own Expectations
Certain people are more susceptible to increased scarring than others. If you have experienced severe scarring in the past or if you have a family history of extensive scarring, discuss this with your plastic surgeon.
3. Follow Your Doctor’s Post-Surgical Care Instructions
Give yourself the appropriate time to rest and recover, avoid strenuous activity and exercise, attend follow-up appointments, prevent infection, and practice good wound care according to your plastic surgeon’s directions. Minimizing your risk of scarring starts before your incisions are even healed.
4. Avoid Alcohol And Tobacco
Both of these substances will prolong your recovery and increase your risk of scarring.
5. Drink Lots Of Water
Hydration is always important for skin health, but it is even more crucial as your body heals. Well-hydrated skin heals more quickly and has a decreased risk for scarring. Fuelyour body with healthy foods rich in vitamins and nutrients. This also improves your recovery and minimizes scarring
6. Protect Your Incision
Don’t touch or pick at your incision as it heals. Avoid restrictive clothing around your surgical site. Choose soft, loose clothing after body contouring procedures and ensure that nothing pulls at, compresses, or restricts your tissues as they heal.
7. Consider Massage
Studies have shown that gently massaging the treatment area can increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, and keep skin supple and flexible, minimizing the development of scar tissue.
8. Choose High-Quality Skin Care Products
When you have reached a point where your incisions have closed, and your surgeon clears you, begin a routine of regular skin care with topical moisturizers that contain ingredients like silicone, vitamin E, collagen, and cocoa butter. These products can soothe itchy and irritated skin and restore elasticity to minimize post-surgical scarring.
9. Use Sun Protection
Immediately following surgery avoid sun exposure and protect your incision areas with clothing or another covering. Once your wounds have healed, use sunscreen whenever you are outside. UV exposure can make scars thicker, darker in colour, and more prominent in appearance. Avoiding the damaging effects of the sun will also prolong the results of your cosmetic surgery.
10. Consider Other Cosmetic Treatments To Reduce Scarring
If your scars are more significant than you expected or you have post-surgical complications that increased scarring despite your best effort to do all of the right things, there are cosmetic treatments that are very effective at reducing the appearance of scars. Speak with your plastic surgeon to discuss your options for scar revision such as topical medications, laser treatments, microdermabrasion, steroid injections, and more.
Choose Kelowna’s Top Cosmetic Surgeon For Optimal Surgical Outcomes
Scarring may be an expected result of cosmetic surgery, but there are steps that can hasten your recovery and minimize your risk of severe scarring. For the most transformative cosmetic surgical results and a thoughtful and skilled approach to scar management, choose Dr. Peterson to help you reach your goals for plastic surgery. Explore your options for cosmetic surgery and understand the steps you can take to reduce post-surgical scarring with a complimentary consultation.
Dr. Peterson and the team at Peterson MD believe in providing patients with as much information as possible to make the most informed decision for care. To explore your options for surgical and non-surgical cosmetic surgery treatments in the Okanagan, contact our clinic in downtown Kelowna by calling 1-250-868-9099 or by filling out our contact form. Dr. Peterson and the team at Peterson MD are the Okanagan’s choice for surgical cosmetic procedures including liposuction, breast surgery, tummy tuck, and mommy makeovers and non-surgical options such as IPL Photorejuvenation, Microdermabrasion, and BOTOX® through our partner clinic Okanagan Skin Care Centre. We specialize in transformative cosmetic surgical producers with exceptional and lasting results. We are committed to a high standard of patient education and care and to providing surgical and non-surgical treatments to help patients look and feel their very best.
FAQ
Q: How long will it take my incisions to heal?
A: Your plastic surgery incision will close after a few days, but it is far from healed. Immediately following surgery your body will begin producing collagen fibres that knit together to close your wound. After three to four weeks your incision will be fairly stable, but your body will continue to send increased blood supply to the wound that will support collagen production and healing. Over the next year to two years your scar will fade and flatten.
Q: Do scars get worse before they get better?
A: Yes. As your body strives to support healing tissues, the blood supply and collagen production at the surgical site is amplified. This can result in tissues that are redder, harder, and raised. But over time, and with proper care, your scar will soften, flatten, and fade.
Q: Will scar revision completely remove my scar?
A: Scar revision treatments are not guaranteed to remove the scar entirely. These treatments can reduce the appearance (size, colour, and texture) of your scar, in some cases to near invisibility, but this is not always the case. Contact Dr. Peterson to learn more about what to expect from a scar revision.
