One of the major deterrents people have towards breast surgery, for breast lifts in particular, is the notion that you’ll be left with a noticeable scar for the rest of your life. While it’s true that a breast lift procedure can necessitate a scar, advancements in surgical techniques, after-care and scar revision have minimized the risk and severity of scarring. Here, top breast surgeons share what they tell their patients about breast lift scars and how to avoid and treat them.
Minimizing Tissue Trauma
According to Louisville, KY plastic surgeon Chet Mays, MD, every patient will have scars. “As plastic surgeons we try and prevent noticeable scars. We try and hide them in the body’s natural anatomy,” he explains. “When it comes to breast lifts, there are incisions made around the nipple areola complex and down the middle of the breast. We try and minimize trauma to the tissue because the healing skin needs good blood supply.”
Advanced Suturing Techniques
Eugene, OR plastic surgeon Lee B. Daniels, MD adds that tension on skin incisions can cause widening, which he says is a “no-no!” “Using the appropriate suture technologies to close the skin is also an important factor in scarring. For example, I use a deep dissolvable technology for internal sutures; but then my surface suture with standard breast lifts, is PDS, which is a long-term dissolvable suture that tends to hold the skin together during the immediate healing and scar softening phases. Having thinly lined incisions is a regular and predictable result in my practice using this technique.”
Implants Can Help
“In the context of breast lift surgery, the implant is often a very important component,” notes Scottsdale, AZ plastic surgeon Bryan W. Gawley, MD. “Breast droop or ptosis is a combination of breast volume loss as well as skin laxity. An appropriately chosen implant will restore volume and enhance shape, as well as tighten loose skin. In some patients, the addition of an implant may reduce the need for a breast lift or at least reduce the need for a longer scar depending on the amount of skin laxity.”
Post-Operative Scar Care
Grand Rapids, MI plastic surgeon Bradley Bengtson, MD says being consistent with basic, recommended at-home scar care ultimately helps them to heal better. “We use scar gels and DIMRS Silicone Inserts to help scars heal and get to their final outcome. If a patient develops thicker, hypertrophic scars, we will then use steroid injections and lasers to flatten and remove the redness”
In-Office Treatments
If noticeable scars are inevitable, after all a lot of it has to do with genetics, Dr. Daniels says a combination approach may help minimize them. “If this is the case, a skin-resurfacing treatment like the Vbeam laser, Kenalog steroid injections or even a scar-revision procedure may be needed, but this is very rare,” he explains. “Using my surgical techniques I’ve been very fortunate and truly have not had to deal with noticeable scars except in the most rare of situations, for patients with breast lift or even augmentation mastopexies.”
