How Quickly Will Liposuction Scars Fade?

Liposuction procedures have increased in popularity over the years and liposuction is now one of the most popular of all cosmetic surgical procedures in the US and in fact throughout the world.

Liposuction is also known as body contouring or body sculpting and can make a dramatic change in your body’s appearance, targeting areas such as the abdomen, arms, thighs and buttocks, lower back and even the face and neck.

liposuction scars

Although there are many side effects and potential dangers and risks involved with this method of surgery, people are not deterred. Their quest for an improved body drives them on regardless.

It is essential to remember however, that liposuction is very much a surgical procedure, and it does in fact involve making tiny incisions in the skin, and as such, scarring is inevitable.

Although, when considering any form of liposuction, the concern of permanent scars should not be a major issue when making your decision, because they are usually very small anyway.  However, if you are really concerned about how liposuction scars will look, perhaps you should seek alternative methods for fat removal.

Liposuction of course has its benefits.  It has the ability to target specific areas, which, no matter how much diet and exercise you do, are still left, annoyingly, unaffected.

Everyone knows that self-esteem and self-confidence is affected by the your looks, so a procedure such as liposuction, which could make an improvement to your appearance and give a huge boost to your self-confidence, should not be dismissed purely for the worry of some tiny scars, which in time will become all but invisible anyway.


Location of Liposuction Scars

Liposuction scars are a permanent side effect of the liposuction procedure, although most experienced surgeons nowadays are skilled enough to hide the incisions in areas such as your body’s natural creases, below the bikini line and sometimes in the navel – obviously this is dependent on the area being treated.


Causes of Liposuction Scars

Generally speaking, each area treated with liposuction will have each two small incisions (usually 4-10mm in length), although it may sometimes be necessary to add further accessory incisions, thus leaving a minimum of two scars per treated area.

Sometimes, scars can be caused from the use of the cannula or suctioning device itself.  This device is used in a backwards and forwards motion beneath the layers of skin, and as it pushes and pulls, this can sometimes create tunnel liposuction scars, however this is generally more severe and usually only when a large cannula has been used.  Often a larger device is used to remove excessive quantities of fat during a single procedure.

Scars will eventually fade, although this can take up to a year.  It is best to keep liposuction scars away from direct sunlight and gently massaging them with scar reduction or minimizing creams, can help them to fade faster.


Size of Liposuction Scars

The resultant size of the incision and ultimately the size of the scar, depends on various factors.

Firstly, the level of experience and skill of the surgeon chosen for the procedure and secondly the liposuction technique used. Some procedures use smaller cannulas than others and therefore require smaller incisions through which to insert the cannula.

The scars are usually anything between 4mm – 10mm in length.


Visibility of Liposuction Scars

The visibility of your scar finally may be dependent on your own genetics, as some people have a predisposition for scars to remain notably worse than others.

The risk of ending up with scars from liposuction depends largely on the skin’s elasticity. More mature patients, and those with considerable stretch marks, are likely to have a poorer level of skin elasticity, and are thus likely to be left with more visible liposuction scars.

Often, dark skin tends to be affected more – it can scar more due to a build up of collagen in the incision area (known as keloid scars), and discoloration is more noticeable around the incision (which is caused by alterations in the production of melanin in the skin).

These are all reasons why it is critical that you divulge your full medical history to your physician.


Before Liposuction Surgery

Your surgeon should discuss the risks of liposuction scarring at your initial consultation.  The incisions can possibly take longer to heal in individuals with poor skin elasticity.

In addition, those with poor elasticity, may find that the skin will wrinkle a little in the treated are, due to the fact that the skin has less ability to retract. However, even with a poor level of skin elasticity, the appearance of the treated areas will look much improved due to the removal of the heavy fat contained within.

A surgeon’s level of skill and experience is very important and can help to reduce the likelihood of scarring. His experience will give him the foresight to make the incisions in strategically placed, hidden areas.


After Liposuction Surgery

The incisions will be much inflamed after the procedure has finished and the post liposuction healing process begins.  Often, surgeons leave the incisions un-sutured to allow for reduction in both bruising and swelling via drainage from the incisions themselves.

Whilst, others believe that suturing the incisions allows the tissues to seal more seamlessly, giving the patient a less visible and smoother scar.  Surgeons who don’t suture the incisions will often use silicone sheeting or surgical paper tape to help flatten the cuts, helping the scars to appear less visibile, by applying direct pressure to the wound.

liposuction scarsIn addition, scarring can be reduced by the use of the recommended and extremely vital compression garments following the surgical procedure.  These should be worn consistently for 24 hours each day, for a minimum of the first 3 weeks, then during daytime hours only for the following 3 weeks.

These compression garments are used for longer periods of time on patients with poor levels of skin elasticity.

As a word of warning, it should be noted that smoking can directly affect the look and feel of scar tissue.

Sometimes ointments and creams may be prescribed as a preventative measure, and these need to be massaged into the relevant treated areas concerned.

Sometimes, healed liposuction scars may require additional treatment. For specifically raised or darker scars, treatment with a laser can be effective.  Different types of lasers can be used to remove the darker pigment and to flatten a scar.

Liposuction scarring shouldn’t be too much of a concern, as the scars are usually very much smaller than those produced from other types of cosmetic surgical procedures, and fortunately, in time, most scars fade to a virtually invisible state.

 

Read more on:

What is Liposuction? – Liposuction Procedures

Liposuction prices

Cheap Liposuction

Liposuction Side Effects

Calf Liposuction

Thigh Liposuction

Inner Knee and Inner Thigh Liposuction

Upper Arm Liposuction

Guide to Liposuction Surgery

Liposuction Recovery Information

Pubic Liposuction

Liposuction Alternatives

Safe Liposuction Clinics

Superficial Liposuction

Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction

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