Natural color after breast reduction

Hershey, sorry to hear of your problems.  Breast reduction in an active smoker is fraught with wound healing problems.  Some of the skin may not heal well, require dressing changes and result in scars which are widened, thicker and unattractive.  In order to get a great result, both the doctor and patient should work together, before, during and after surgery and this includes stopping cigarette smoking a month before and after surgery.  What you describes sounds like a scar, which is "hypopigmented" or lighter than the color of your surrounding skin.  Regrettably, scars generally do not ever regain the exact color of your skin.

How to fix the color discrepancy?  There are nonsurgical and surgical methods.  A surgical scar revision would involve cutting out the old scar and stitching it back carefully, however it is possible that you'll have the same or worse results.  Additionally you run the risk of infection and cost.  Nonsurgical techniques include wearing camouflage make-up or micropigmentation (tattoos).  You should be aware that medical tatooing of scars may require several sessions as the scar doesn't take the pigment as easily as normal tissue.  Good luck.

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Hello,

Cigarette smoking over the long term reduces the blood supply to many tissues, including the skin. Operations that push the healing capacity of tissue like breast reduction and tummy tuck have less wonderful results in smokers.

It is likely that your tissue was negatively affected and will stay in its changed condition. You can of course see your surgeon to see if he or she has any suggestions as to how the condition might be mitigated.

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