Silicone gel may help with scarring

Hi Lec,

The scar you are referring to is called an infracillary incision. It is a surgical cut through the skin of the lower eyelid just below the eyelashes.

When these are well made, the scar rests up against the lower eyelid lashes and tends to fade in time. I am actually surprised to hear that your surgeon has prescribed this given that this scar tends to hide quite well against the eyelashes. In general, silicone gel is helpful and does speed up the healing of the scar. It is particularly helpful for raised or so-called hypertrophic scars.

There are two types of silicone gel used for this purpose. One is silicone gel sheeting. This material is very good for modifying young scars on the body where the sheeting can be worn under clothing almost continuously. The other form of these products is as a silicone gel ointment. The ointment is most helpful for locations where it might be too conspicuous to wear the sheeting. The sheeting will not work for the lower eyelid incision because of the mobility of this area. Be careful not to get the silicone gel ointment in the eye.

The good new is that this scar will fade in time with or without the silicone gel.

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Although many surgeons use silicone gel and silicone gel sheeting to influence scars, we do not know the exact mechanism of why it works. It also does not work all the time. You have to look at the characteristics of the scar you are trying to affect (i.e. pigmentation, thickness, redness, width, firmness, itchiness, etc.etc).

Silicone gel and sheeting may help with thickness, firmness, and redness. But so might tincture of time so it is not so clear as to whether the use of these products are helping the scars or if time itself and the normal healing process would eventually allow the scar to appear better without treatment.

The eyelids are the best areas of the body to have scars. Keloids virtually never form on the eyelid scar. You might ask your surgeon what aspect of the scar is not acceptable and if the gel is going to help that characteristic. You should be very careful not to get the gel into the eye itself. I suspect that the scar will improve on its on, or has little to do with the use of the gel.

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Subciliary incisions after Blepharoplasty tend to increase in thickness in the immediate postoperative period and will subside in thickness and width with time. Silicone sheeting is difficult to position under the eyelash. Continue aggressive massage as prescibed by your physician.

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