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What Determines Severity of the Tummy Tuck Scar?

asked 10 months ago by anon
Latest answer by Michael Kreidstein, MD
Question viewed 623 times
Tags: scar, scar tissue

In the various before and after Tummy Tuck photos, the scar seen on Tummy Tuck patients vary from severe to hardly noticeable. What determines the severity of the scar? Is it the skill of the surgeon, the healing ability of the body or the amount of excess skin that was removed?

17 answers to What Determines Severity of the Tummy Tuck Scar?

What determines the final appearance of a tummy tuck scar

The appearance of a tummy tuck scar depends on multiple factors. Your skin tone, ethnicity, nutritional status and your genetics is responisible for the majority of how your scar will look. The surgeon's technique and the tension under which the skin is closed also contributes to the final scar's appearance. Tummy tuck scars can take up to one year to fully lighten and soften, so patients should expect the scar to look red or maroon in color for the first several months. I... more

William Bruno, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

www.williambrunomd.com

Minimizing the scar in a tummy tuck

What determines the severity of the tummy tuck scar? In the past, there were only two types of tummy tucks we offered their patients. Now there are more than 6 that we routinely perform. All have different scars. For patients with minimal skin looseness, shorter scar techniques are possible. It is possible to tighten the entire fascia through a short incision. There are several types of short incision tummy tucks. For patients with looseness above the... more

Brent Moelleken, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

www.drbrent.com

Tummy tuck scar quality is multifactorial

The quality of a tummy tuck scar depends largely on how the tummy tuck wound was closed. There area a variety of modern wound closure techniques that greatly enhance scar quality over the long term. These include the use of barbed suture (Quill) and absorbable dermal staples (Insorb). The other factor that effects scar quality is wound tension. Increased tension created thicker and wider scars. Modern tummy tuck techniques emphasize limiting wound tension. The last issue is scar position - a... more

Scott Sattler, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

What determines how my tummy tuck scar will look?

There are many factors that determine the final look of your tummy tuck or surgical scar. Most board certified plastic surgeons practice tension free closure. Other factors include your type of skin, the amount of skin elasticity, and genetics. It is important to have a good postoperative scar protocol including multivitamins, supplements, topical treatments, and massaging. Close follow up of your scars is important, as sometimes laser resurfacing or other laser treatments are... more

Frank Agullo, MD
El Paso Plastic Surgeon

www.elpasoplasticsurgery.com

Scarring post-tummy tuck surgery

There are a number of factors that may affect the healing and appearance of a tummy tuck scar. Patient’s are required to refrain from smoking to prevent any wound healing issues. There are multiple factors that could affect your scarring, including your ethnic background, the quality of your skin and genetics. I try my very best to ensure the best and safest result possible intra-operatively to make the incision line as low as possible, hidden underneath the undergarment. The use of... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

www.poustiplasticsurgery.com

Tummy Tuck Scars

There are several factors that are important in determining the appearance of scars. We, as surgeons, have some control over several of them and very little control over others. Proper skin tensioning, proper scar location and orientation, and maintenance of adequate blood supply to the skin edges are controllable. choice of type of closure and suture material is somewhat important but wounds can be successfully closed with a variety of methods that are really immaterial... more

Jeffrey E. Kyllo, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Multiple factors

Assuming that you are seeing a qualified plastic surgeon who will pay attention to detail and perform a multi-layer closure, there are several "non-doctor" factors to consider with the quality of the scar. First, the quality of your skin to begin with and the amount of elasticity therein. Second, the degree of tension under which the closure is performed. Third, post operative scar management can make a difference. Ask your doctor about taping, scar creams,... more

Farzad R Nahai, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

How to get better tummy tuck scars

A beautiful tummy tuck scar is low enough to be concealed, pale, and narrow. All scars take time to mature and fade, so one of the most important things to keep in mind when looking at pictures of scars is how long after the procedure the picture was taken. Scars may be obvious early on, but almost invisible after a year. The best results also depend on limiting the tension on the edges when they are sewn together, and I believe the best way to do this is by using Progressive Tension Sutures... more

Richard Baxter, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Scars have many root causes!

1- Genetics - some people are born to have a better scar. 2-Skin tension - more tension equals widen scars 3- Good technique - a technique (like the High lateral tension abdomenoplasty) pulls the tissue and tightens the skin through a deper layer called scarpa's fascia - this pulling from below takes the tension of the skin and scars heal better.

Robert M. Freund, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Factors influencing the appearance of tummy tuck scars

The appearance/outcome for tummy tuck scars is dependent on a multitude of factors including patient genetics, ethnicity, skin quality, skin tension, nutrition, physiological age, body mass index (relative obesity), smoking, surgical technique, incision design, compliance postoperatively, postoperative scar care, smoking, underlying medical conditions and activity level (whew!). For photos that are shown online, the greater the time period after surgery, usually the better the scars will appear. more

Steven Turkeltaub, MD
Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon

www.turkeltaub.com

Tummy tuck scar

Your results from a tummy tuck scar are determined by multiple factors. Some may be the skill of the surgeon, the key being a tension free closure to allows maximum healing. There are other factors however that are uncontrollable such as one's genetics. Some people are just prone to not healing as well with red scars, dark scars, thick and raised scar amongst others. Be sure to go over this at length with your surgeon prior to your procedure.

David Nicholas Csikai, MD
Jacksonville Plastic Surgeon

Quality of tummy tuck scars, why some are better than others

The quality of the scar for a tummy tuck is multifactorial. Scars can be of good quality or poor quality (raised, wide, irregular) depending on your body's innate ability to form scars, the tension at the time of closure, the technique of the surgical closure, postoperative infection, quality of the skin (thin, innelastic, stretchy) and position of the scar. One general rule is that with time all scars get better. The photos you see on the internet, can have different quality of the scar... more

George Marosan, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

Tummy Tuck Scar Determination

There are multiple factors which determine the scar with a tummy tuck or for any surgery. Surgical skill and technique are certainly important. However, the most important determinent is the individual patient. I, or any surgeon, can perform identical operations on 10 patients and they will make 10 different quality scars. There are things which can be done post-op when the scars are less than one had hoped for.

John Whitt, MD
Louisville Plastic Surgeon

Determinants of the tummy tuck scar

There are many factors that go into the final tummy tuck scar including the nature of your skin, how tight the TT was done, the skill of the surgeon, the closure technique. I would say that the most important thing all else being equal is what kind of skin you have as most TT patients have very stretched out poorly elastic skin.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Why do some scars look so bad in photos?

TIME FOLLOWING SURGERY is the principal determinant of a scar's appearance. A scar that is red at 6 weeks may be barely visible at one year. A person's individual healing is next most important. Finally, surgical technique plays a role.

Michael Kreidstein, MD
Toronto Plastic Surgeon

Scar quality after adbominoplasty

Several factors affect the visibility of the scar after abdominoplasty. These include patient characteristics such as skin color and pigmentation, skin elasticity and nutritional status, and physician factors such as technique, type of sutures and tension placed on the closure. Normal scars mature over time and usually become less noticeable over the first year after surgery.

Olivia Hutchinson, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Quality of closure

The secret to wound closure is that there really is no secret. We do the same thing each time. Healing is variable from patient to patient. The key is minimal tension on the skin layer of the closure. Still, that does not guarantee a scar of good quality. Other factors, such as smoking and sun exposure, may contribute to scars of poorer quality. Sometimes we just don't understand all of them.