Scars are part of almost any surgery, yet cosmetic patients tell us the fear of scars is one factor that leaves them postponing their surgical procedures. Over time, scars tend to become a minimal concern. Emotionally they end up being less important, than the discomfort and distress of having something patients want to change. Plus, silicone strips and laser treatments can help with scar minimisation.
Are your Scars a concern? Not for long.
In other words, when surgery scars heal, the residual arm scar is less of a worry than constantly feeling self-conscious about ‘bingo wings’ or sagging arm skin or folds of skin around the belly, thighs, breast, hips or upper back.
Recently there has been an increasing popularity of using silicone strips to help scars from cosmetic surgery heal better. While they cost more, their price is only a very small portion of your surgery costs.
Silicone Strips and Scars: Investing in your scar result
Do Silicone Strips really work to help heal scars?
What can be done to help scars become less visible over time?
First, what causes scars?
Nearly every surgery will result in some form of visible scar.
Early incision lines often appear RED or even angry looking (Proper wound care is important to help prevent infections, which worsen scars).
Second, how long before a scar matures and can you help it along?
Scar maturity typically takes approximately 12 months (sometimes up to 18 months).
Silicone Strips, Light/Laser Therapies, Dermapen and other modalities may be good options to help reduce the visibility of any post-operative scars after surgery.
Not smoking, eating nutritiously, staying hydrated and following post-op instructions precisely are also crucial to minimise post-op scar complications or stretched scar formations.
Everyone heels differently, but most scars FADE over time.
Silicone Strips and Scar Reduction
Silicone have been shown to help reduce scars for some patients when used properly along with following all post-surgery instructions. However, other factors impacting your scar include:
the type of procedure you had.
the location of the scar on the body
the length and width of the incision line needed to get you a good surgery result, and
your bodies natural healing capacity
Having healthy skin and a good immune system can help a lot when it comes to healing well from a scar.
Genetics and Skin Health
Your genetics and skin health play a big role in how your scars will form.
Scars vary greatly in quality, depth, size, texture (elevated, indented or somewhat smooth) and shape.
A scar formation will somewhat depend on the nature of the injury or trauma, the location, depth and length of a surgical incision or cannula entry point for liposuction.
The scar will be highly impacted by internal and external conditions of wound healing.
Some of these conditions are controllable and some are not.
Genetics can have an impact on your scar healing capacity (some high-melanin skin types are highly prone to keloid scarring).
Richly pigmented skin (Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, and others) may end up with more visible scars or raised scar tendencies known as keloid scars – ask your surgeon for details
Below is an example of an Abdominoplasty scar (less than 3.5 months after surgery) being strategically placed below the clothing line.
Scar Revisions
Scar revisions might also be an option. Your surgeon may recommend various treatments, including topical treatments of high-grade Vitamin E oils and balms to encourage healing.
How do I Minimise My Scars?
Your surgeon may recommend several post-op scar minimisation protocols
You can combine scar treatment protocols with other scar management modalities
Remember that everyone is different and scar formation isn’t fully predictable or controllable, even though there’s a lot you CAN do to help minimise their appearance.
Again, what you do matters. It’s critical that you do not smoke. Otherwise, you may compromise your surgery result, your healing and your overall health. So what you do post-op is just as important as what your surgeon does to help you get a great scar result
It’s a collaborative effort to help keep scars as minimal as possible.
