Breast Reduction Scars

For many women whose breasts, for one reason or another, have lost shape and need to be reduced, the question of performing a plastic surgery is quite serious.

Most of them stalled the presence of scars, which, as a rule, after the operation, remain relatively noticeable.

Is it possible to avoid the appearance of scars after breast reduction surgery?

Alas this is possible, but there are many things that a doctor can do together with a patient to minimize future scars.

Of course, the scar, even if very small, will remain after any surgical intervention. There are several general tips for minimizing scar formation from breast reduction:

Choose an experienced, certified plastic surgeon

Qualified surgeons, who have modern equipment and competent medical staff, have gentle methods, and will do their best to make the future scars less visible. Learn as much as possible about your family history of illnesses. Genetics can have quite a strong influence on the degree of scarring.

If there is a predisposition to the formation of keloid or hypertrophic scars, then it may be worthwhile to discuss in advance their further treatment with a surgeon, such as laser therapy, or injections.

57 Year Old Woman With Scarless Breast Reduction With Doctor Shwetambara Parakh, MD, Englewood Plastic Surgeon

Follow your doctor’s instructions. All the advice and recommendations given by the surgeon are made primarily in order to protect the patient from possible side effects during and after the operation. Do not neglect them.

How Can I Minimize Scars from Breast Reduction?

Prepare for the fact that before and after the procedure you will communicate with your doctor. He will give you a detailed plan for the future recovery, and the kind of your scars is 80% dependent on its compliance.

Typically, these tips include:

Do not smoke. Smoking in the most pernicious way affects the condition of the skin of the whole body, it leads to a restriction of oxygen access to tissues, because of which the process of recovery and healing of wounds can be severely delayed, and the scars instead of becoming thin and light, will, on the contrary, expand blush. “Do you smoke?” – will be one of the first questions that the surgeon will ask at the very first meeting.

How To Prevent Or Minimize Surgery Scars

Drink plenty of water. This will reduce puffiness, because feeling a lack of water, the body will begin to hold it in the body.

Avoid exposure to sunlight at the site where the operation was performed. From the effects of ultraviolet light, the scars and skin around them can change color.

Avoid any physical exertion on the chest and arm area, especially in the first 1-2 weeks after surgery. Scars can stretch, and become more prominent.

Sleep on high cushions, so that the upper body was at an angle of 30 degrees. Fall asleep in this position will have for 2-3 weeks.

Observe the regimen of prescribing medications. Most of them are aimed at protecting you from getting an infection, which is very important in the period of postoperative recovery.

How To Reduce Surgical Scars

What are the techniques for breast reduction?

The choice of this or that method of breast reduction directly depends on how pronounced breast ptosis is in a woman, what is her age, the size of her bust, as well as the presence of any diseases and a number of other minor factors.

Periareolar technique of breast reduction

The incision is made around the areola of the breast, so that the scar subsequently becomes almost invisible. This is the first and main advantage of this method.

Whether it is specifically for you, it will become clear after consulting a surgeon. The fact is that access to tissues with this method is not always convenient for the surgeon, so if the breast of a woman is large and the degree of ptosis (sagging) is quite significant, this technique may not work.

Kelo Cote Scar Gel

Vertical breast reduction technique

The incision is made along the areola of the nipple and goes down to the crease under the breast. In this case, the scar remains on the breast, however, how much it will be visible depends both on the skill of the surgeon and on the behavior of the patient during the recovery period.

T-shaped technique of breast reduction

This technique repeats vertical, but the doctor here also makes an additional horizontal incision along the submammary fold. This incision is also called an anchor. It is used, as a rule, when a woman has a pronounced ptosis of the breast. Visually, the scar will be the same as with the vertical technique – the scar in the submammary fold is almost invisible.

Prevent Infection

Breast Liposuction

It is performed through small punctures in the crease under the chest and in the armpit. This type of breast reduction is used in cases where the breast problem is not in excess skin, but in excess breast and adipose tissue. The doctor with the help of special cannulas removes only them, the skin remains untouched. Scars after this technique will be invisible.

Breast reduction technique using thread

A fundamentally new technique, which only recently began to be used in plastic surgery, is classified as minimally invasive, since it does not involve significant surgical intervention. The threads are inserted under the skin for 3-5 mm with the help of thin cannulas in the area just below the clavicle.

They pass around the entire breast, forming a kind of loops, which tighten the breast up. The threads “work” only if the breast itself is not larger than the 36B, the ptosis is slightly expressed, there are no significant excess of the skin, fat or breast.

Threads can be bioresorbable, which need not be removed from the chest. They are made on the basis of collagen, elastane or lactic acid. They can also be non-absorbable, such as, for example, gold or platinum threads, or polypropylene.

Risk Factors For Scarring

The technique of breast reduction with threads refers to the category of novelties. With the statement to say that this is the best alternative to traditional plastic surgery, it is impossible. According to some studies, threads can have a long-term effect up to 5-10 years.

Other sources indicate that the result will be visible only the first 3 years after the procedure. The use of threads assumes a strictly individual approach. Before deciding on a similar “seamless” option, you should consult a certified plastic surgeon. Some women prefer to have scars in order to have the best result, rather than subject the body to a surgical intervention, even if minimally invasive, without the desired effect.

Methods of treating and reducing scars after plastic surgery.

With a normal outcome of a plastic surgery, wchich was performed by a qualified surgeon, and assuming that the patient performed all the doctor’s post-surgical appointments, the scars will thin out and eventually turn into thin, barely noticeable white strips on the chest that do not cause any cosmetic discomfort, and completely invisible even under semi-transparent underwear. However, depending on the age of the woman, the condition and color of her skin, the scars may be far from ideal. For such cases, there are methods of treatment and reduction of scars.

SCAR HEALING

These include:

Injection of fillers and hormones. If the scars after surgery look hollow, which in the medical language is called “atrophic”, then subcutaneous injections, which are injected directly into the scar, can significantly improve their appearance. However, their action is unfortunately short-lived – from 4 to 12 months.

Laser correction and chemical peels. This method well corrects a fairly coarse hypertrophic scars. After the procedure, the skin will be refreshed, the scar later becomes noticeable less.

The laser in this respect is more effective than chemical peeling, as it penetrates the upper layer of the skin and actually stops the process of formation of scar tissue. Chemical peels and dermabrasion polish the skin: the layer of scar tissue is removed. After healing, scars also either disappear at all, or become hardly noticeable.

Short Scar Breast Reduction With Dr. George Marosan, MD, Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

Scar removal surgically. Suitable for getting rid of hypertrophied, atrophic or keloid scars. In other cases, when laser correction or other methods are not applicable to a particular patient, the surgeon can recommend removal of scars.

In place of the old scar, after its excision, the doctor makes a new one, applying more sparing techniques that will promote better healing. In most cases, the scars after such a method remain noticeable only after careful consideration.

All these methods can be used for patients who have undergone a breast reduction surgery. There are also a number of non-invasive drugs – creams and ointments for the treatment of scarring.

Most of them should be applied either immediately or in the first months after the operation, when the healing process is still in operation. That is why it is important to discuss the type of your future scars with your plastic surgeon, especially if there is a genetic predisposition to them.

Silicone Gel Scar And Keloid By Polytech

Many patients who want to reduce the chest or make a breast lift, scare away the prospect of scarring on the chest. What if there is no other way out?

It must be understood that reduction mammoplasty is not such an aesthetic operation as, say, breast augmentation. Scars are unavoidable. Another question is how accurate and inconspicuous they are.

If you remove a large amount of mammary glands, the presence of a T-shaped scar is inevitable, because in the course of the operation, excess skin is also removed.

Many patients initially frighten the presence of postoperative scars. But still after 6-8 months, these scars fade (they practically compare in color with the skin) and become less noticeable. You can resort to additional procedures to reduce scarring, make them even less noticeable:

Treating Scars

Scar removal with laser

It is recommended to resort to laser removal of scars 3 months after the operation. On average, 4 to 6 procedures are required with an interval of 3-4 weeks.

Removal of scars by laser has maximum efficiency and significantly reduces the risks of possible complications. It is important to know that scars of large volume (including postoperative scars) can be significantly reduced by laser treatment and made minimally visible, but it is impossible to completely eliminate.

Kelo-cote (cream, spray)

Also, to reduce scarring, it is recommended to use Kelo-cote (form of the cream – 6 g, 15 g, spray – 50 ml, 100 ml). Unlike the cream, the spray is convenient for contactless treatment of hard-to-reach, extensive, painful and sensitive scars.

The effectiveness of Kelo-cote has been clinically proven. Today, Kelo-cote is the world clinical standard in scar therapy – ideal for treating problem skin / scarring in the area of articular surfaces, folds, for the treatment of extensive scarring. Kelo-cote is safe and well tolerated by patients with sensitive skin, including children.

Scar Massage Can Help Decrease Sensitivity

Kelo-cote can be used 10-14 days after the operation, the duration of application to achieve the best aesthetic results is individual, usually up to 6 months.

Mode of application:

  • The skin should be clean and dry;
  • Apply with a thin continuous layer and then leave until completely dry;
  • After drying it is allowed to use pressure bandages, cosmetic and sunscreen products;
  • The application of the drug 2 times a day provides 24-hour effectiveness.

Silicone patch

Clinical studies have shown that silicone positively affects the healing of scars (postoperative, hypertrophic, keloid, scars after cuts, burns and injuries). Also, the silicone adhesive is used to prevent the growth of scars. Method of application: the patch is glued to the scar and not removed during the entire course of therapy.

Benefits:

  • Ideal fixation;
  • Not visible under clothing;
  • It does not get wet;
  • Suitable for daily wearing;
  • Can be applied repeatedly (when removing the patch does not lose its properties);
  • One patch can be used for 7 days or more.

Photos of Scars