Breast Implant Scars
Breast Implant Scars
The fact is, it is unavoidable to have breast implant scars after undergoing a breast augmentation procedure. The development of the scars, as they go through the healing process, may be affected by several factors which include your skin type, the size and location of the incisions made, possible complications from the surgery, and your status in smoking.
The healing process of scar incisions involves the excess production of collagen, a substance responsible in healing an open wound thus resulting to a scar. The collagen production is accompanied by collagenase, an enzyme that inhibits too much production of collagen into the tissue. These two substances work together in healing your incision scars.
If both of these substances’ productions are at par, you may get a scar that is lesser visible, however, if the collagen production of your body is too much and the collagenase enzyme is not enough, you may develop and get hypertrophic scars, which are characterized by thick and raised scar tissues, or worse, develop keloid scars, which, on the other hand, are characterized by raised and reddish nodules.
Some of these scars fade eventually but very few people experience the entire disappearance of their scars. Remember, the healing of scars entirely depend on one’s body chemistry. There’s no certainty on how your scar will heal but there are a few options you’d like to try to help your scar heal properly with less visibility.
Some Tips on How to Avoid Unsightly Breast Implant Scars
- Patience is always a virtue
It takes time to heal scars especially those that have been incurred during your breast implant surgery. The incisions made by your plastic surgeon may close and dry up within a few days and the sutures used may be removed within the week. However, you should remember that the part that has healed by this time is on the topmost part of the skin only. This is due to the natural body’s process in healing wounds - it closes the top portion of the skin to prevent any bacteria from coming in.
After the incisions close and dry, the next part of the healing process takes place on the inside as every layer of skin and tissue is being repaired little by little. Your scars may look reddish and raised for a few months and eventually become paler and flatter as time passes by. In some cases, it could take up one year before a scar can fully mature and heal itself entirely.
- Avoid sun exposure
While it might be great to flaunt your new figure in a bikini and lay down on the sun to get some tan, sun exposure may cause scar discoloration if it hasn’t fully healed just yet. However, if you can’t resist the idea to go sun bathing, it would be best to use a sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher, not only on your body but most specifically on the incision sites.
- Avoid scratching the incision sites
When the incision is beginning to heal, there is an itchy sensation you’ll feel on the scar area. It is of utmost importance to resist the urge to scratch them. Why? Well, scratching actually encourages your body to produce more collagen and this may lead to hypertrophic or keloid scars. Your scars will look even worse when you accidentally scratch off some parts of the skin surrounding the incision sites.
To resist the urge to scratch, it would be better if you lightly rub the itchy parts surrounding the incisions. Believe it or not, the itchiness on these parts will eventually fade after rubbing them lightly.
- Proactive solutions during scar healing
If you are really concerned in healing your scars properly, you should talk to your plastic surgeon beforehand about possible proactive solutions you can do right after the breast augmentation procedure. Some surgeons use silicon sheeting to help flatten and lighten scars as they undergo the healing process.
Other times, your surgeon may recommend the use of certain topical silicon gels and creams or perhaps use surgical paper tapes on your incisions when they close and dry. You should also ask your doctor about the topical tretinoin or Retin A which is typically used in treating the incisions before they are covered with surgical tapes.
- Laser treatment solutions
Depending on your body chemistry, your breast implant scars may heal in a year or so but if your scars are still unsightly even then, you may consult your plastic surgeon for a possible laser treatment to minimize the breast augmentation scars. There are several types of laser treatments which include vaporizing of the skin layer that contains the unsightly scar and also the stimulation of collagen development in the lower layers of the skin to help remove the scar on the topmost part of the skin.
- Other possible scar treatment solutions
If all the aforementioned methods have failed to lighten and flatten your scar lines, you may perhaps undergo a procedure called cryosurgery. This is a special type of cosmetic procedure that aims to freeze the upper layers of your skin, which includes the incision marks, and then shed them off after some blisters show up. This is a cold and painful procedure so you might want to rethink this if you have a low level of pain management. There are still other treatments available like undergoing steroid injections or perhaps undergo another surgical procedure called scar removal surgery.