Breast Augmentation Scar Care Tips

Breast augmentation is a very popular procedure that can improve the way you feel about your body and appearance. Women who have always been concerned about being "small breasted", women who have lost a lot of weight, and women who have noticed that their breasts have become smaller after having children are the most frequent candidates for this procedure.

One concern that most patients express is the fear of surgical scarring. Typically the scars after Breast Augmentation heal well and are nicely concealed beneath the breast so that they are not visible.

There are however many things you can do or your doctor can do to improve the quality and appearance of your scars. Understand that all surgical scars are pink on average for 7 months and most all scars are white by two years.

The following scar care tips will help you achieve the best result:

    Gently massage your scar starting at about 14 days. Use a lubricating cream or moisturizer that contains Aloe and Vitamin E to avoid friction and gently massage or rub in a circular motion twice a day. Remember, be gentle, do not t to force lumps down, you could break a deep stitch that will dissolve in time. Continue this until the scar is smooth without lumps or uneven areas. This can take 6 to 12 weeks.

    Use a Topical Skin Solution. I have found Scar Guard the only one effective in my practice. The best ones contain a silicone solution.

    Avoid Under-wire Bras or tight fitting bras. Rubbing and irritation will make your scar red and swollen.

    Avoid sun exposure. Direct sun exposure on a scar will cause inflammation and redness. Be careful wearing a bikini as some allow sun to get through.

    Eat Healthy. A diet rich in Colored Vegetables and Antioxidant containing foods plus supplemental Vitamin C will support wound healing.

    Avoid very strenuous exercises and lifting for the first few weeks after surgery. These activities put stress on the incision. Stress on the incision stimulates the body to produce more scar tissue and causes irritation and redness.

    If your clothing is causing irritation of the incision place a soft sponge or cotton over the area to protect it.

    See your Plastic Surgeon at regular intervals-2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months to evaluate the progress of your scar. If trouble is brewing, early intervention to correct a problem is essential.

How to correct problem scars after Breast Augmentation

Although most scars heal well occasionally problems can occur. Scars that are red and raised are called Hypertrophic. True Keloids are rare and only occur in Black and dark skinned individuals who are susceptible to Keloids. If your scar is irritated, red or raised there are interventions that your Physician can do to help you:

    Steroid injections have been used for many years and will reduce Hypertrophic tissue and lessen redness. However prolonged use of Steroid Injection can cause atrophy of the fat beneath the skin and result in a depression in the skin, and excessive blood vessels can grow in the overlying skin. Injections should be 6 weeks apart and no more than 2 or 3 sessions.

    Steroid Containing Skin Tape can be applied to the scar usually on for 24-36 hours and off for 12 hours for no longer than 6 weeks.

    IPL or Intense Pulsed light is very effective at reducing the redness in scars. Usually 3-4 treatments 6 weeks apart are required. Today I prefer this therapy over steroids because of the potential steroid side effects.

    1540 Non ablative Fractional Erbium Laser treatments are very effective at smoothing and flattening raised lumpy scars. Typically 4-5 treatments 6 weeks apart are used.

If you are planning to have breast augmentation be sure to consult an experienced surgeon Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. The expertise and skill of your surgeon is the most important factor in determining the quality of your final result.