Plastic surgery includes face, body, and breast procedures to enhance your appearance. Our plastic surgeons at Somerset Plastic Surgery work to minimize potential scarring. Here is more information on how to address scarring concerns with your plastic surgeon:
Receiving a Consultation
During a consultation with your plastic surgeon, you can share your appearance goals and surgery expectations. The surgeon will discuss your medical history with you and any conditions you may have, and they will take measurements to determine if you are a good candidate for specific procedures. They will review the available surgeries that reflect your goals and answer any questions you have about them. They will also go over possible risks and results associated with the different procedures, such as scarring.
If you are looking to reduce wrinkles on your face, the surgeon can offer alternatives to surgery. Somerset Plastic Surgery provides Botox and Juvéderm; these are injections that smooth out crow’s feet and tighten skin around the face. Injections like these do not result in scarring.
Reviewing Surgical Methods
Scars are able to be strategically placed in the surgical process. During your consultation, your surgeon can also review the methods that they use to reduce scarring during procedures. This includes:
- Scar visibility reduction: The surgeons work to hide scars from the procedure in inconspicuous places, such as the natural folds of your skin. Depending on the procedure, this includes the hairline, inside the eyelid, in the creases of the eyelid, and the folds of the ears. For an abdominoplasty procedure, scars are low on the abdomen and can be covered by a bikini.
- Precise surgical techniques: Minimizing skin trauma helps reduce scarring. During surgery, the surgeons can lift skin off the fat layer to help the skin stretch. They also create well-aligned incisions that are not jagged or overly long.
- Suture methods: Surgeons determine appropriate suture types and methods for your surgery. This includes dissolvable sutures, glue, and fine suturing materials. Tissue is gently handled with minimal tension.
Depending on the procedure, you will receive either local or general anesthesia for your surgery. The surgeon also monitors your vital signs during the entire process. Our surgeons at Somerset Plastic Surgery are board-certified and follow safety procedures.
Combining Procedures
Some surgical procedures are able to be combined to reduce the number of procedures you undergo; this includes breast augmentation and lift. Breast augmentation utilizes implants to balance breast size. A breast lift procedure reduces sagging and returns a youthful lift. Combining these two procedures adds firmness, allows you to choose the position of your breasts, and helps reduce scarring. Other combined procedures include an arm and body lift, which helps remove excess fat on the arms and allows for increased body contouring. A face and neck lift tightens the skin around the facial area.
Making Lifestyle Changes
Making positive lifestyle changes during the preparatory and recovery phases helps with the healing process, affecting scar formation. Nicotine products expose tissue to carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, and heavy alcohol use can increase perioperative bleeding. Quitting smoking, reducing alcohol, eating a nutritious diet, and participating in an active lifestyle help improve incision healing.
Following Post-Surgery Instructions
Promoting healing for incisions can help scars fade over time. One of our surgeons will provide you with wound care instructions to follow after your surgery to help prevent infection and reduce swelling. Wearing compression garments helps with blood flow and assists with the healing process. The doctor is also able to discuss scar management techniques with you, such as massages.
Your doctor may prescribe topical ointments and silicone sheeting to help with scarring. Topical ointments preserve incision softness, helping prevent scabbing that affects wound healing and scarring. Silicone sheets flatten scars to help them fade. Avoiding sun exposure on your abdominal scars helps prevent hyperpigmentation; this helps keep the scars from darkening.
During the recovery process, you will meet with your surgeon during follow-up visits so that they are able to assess your healing progress. The number of visits depends on the procedure you have undergone and your individual recovery process. Post-surgery care includes checking the state of your incisions and scar formation and maturity. They will remove stitches or nasal packing when appropriate, and they can advise you on when you are able to return to exercising or other vigorous activities.
Meet With a Plastic Surgeon
Procedures at Somerset Plastic Surgery include breast reduction and reconstruction, forehead and facelifts, and nose reshaping. Cosmetic surgery helps reduce facial scarring caused by accidents or trauma. For greater convenience, we include downloadable patient forms on our website for both new and established patients. A gallery of before-and-after results is available to show you possible outcomes for your procedure. To learn more about our plastic surgery procedures from a plastic surgeon, we invite you to complete our appointment request form today.