What is a good scar cream to use after my Mommy Makeover?

Hello! Thank you for the question! It is common for scars to fully mature for up to a year. In the meantime, there are a few things that may help to ameliorate your incision/scar. The most proven (as well as cheapest) modality is simple scar massage. Applying pressure and massaging the well-healed scar has been shown to improve the appearance as it breaks up the scar tissue, hopefully producing the finest scar as possible. Other things that have been shown to add some benefit, albeit controversial, are silicone sheets, hydration, and topical steroids. I typically allow after 4-6 weeks postop and once fully healed. In addition, avoidance of direct sunlight to the incision will significantly help the appearance as they tend to discolor with UV light during the healing process. If unsightly scars are still present after approximately a year's time, other things that your surgeon may consider are intralesional steroid injections, laser, or just surgical revision of the scar itself. Lasers may also be an option for the appearance of your scars. If still no result, consideration for lasers, steroids, or scar revision may be entertained. Best wishes!

Scarring can be reduced by following your surgeon's post-surgery care instructions and keeping the scars out of the sun. Sun exposure can cause permanent darkening. You can also consider topical scar treatments once the steristrips have fallen off. I often recommend Dermatix. Talk to your surgeon about silicone gel and silicone sheeting. Best of luck!

Proper management of the scar includes final closure of the skin with little or no tension, avoidance of trauma including ultraviolet light to the scar in time. There's no evidence to scar creams do any good whatsoever.

There are just so many companies making scar creams and ointments to try to optimize the scarring after surgery. But I have yet to see a well designed study to show that any of them work any better than another or even better than nothing at all. I have seen many patients that have used scar creams that have beautiful scars but just as many that were disappointed that the same scar creams didn't work for them. I just have my patients use paper tape on the incisions for about 6 weeks. They change the tape once a week. But you will find lots of differing opinions on this topic to be sure.

The choices will vary with your surgeon's recommendations. However, we use Biocorneum which contains silicone and sunscreen. This is what we recommend for scars. As far as cream to hydrate, we usually recommend a non scented lotion such as Lubriderm.

Thank you for your post. In tummy tuck and other lift/tightening surgeries, tension is the enemy. The scar is healing gradually over 12 weeks or so, and until it is strong, it is the weakest link. As there is a great deal of tension in tummy tucks, body lifts, breast lifts, etc., the scar is at high risk of 'stretching' or widening. Silicone sheeting, although having the ability to make a scar flat, does nothing to prevent stretching of the scar. Creams or steroids or lasers also do not have the ability to prevent stretching of the scar. Those are used if scar is thick or dark, but not to reduce the wideness of the scar, which is the main problem. Massage also does not help keep the scar thin, and can actually worsen the scar in the first 12 weeks because you are actually adding tension to the scar. Massage is for softening a hard or thick scar, but if used early, will hasten the scar widening. Only tension reduction has the ability to keep the scar as thin as possible. You may notice in a lot of tummy tuck scars that the center portion of the scar is the widest with the sides toward the hips being the thinnest. This is because the maximum tension is at the center, and least amount on the sides. Embrace removes a lot of the tension by putting more tension on the skin on either side of the incision and drawing the incision together. It is expensive though at about $100 per week for 12 weeks. When patients do not want to spend the money for embrace, I tape the incision trying to remove as much tension as possible for 12 weeks and recommend no stretching back and to sit most of the time, keeping tension off the scar.Best wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD

Your plastic surgeon will likely have his/her preference when it comes to incision line “care”.  For example, some plastic surgeons prefer the use of tape ( applying pressure) along the incision line. The use of silicone-based products (creams or sheeting)  may also be helpful in achieving the best scars possible.I hope this helps.

Thank you for your question. Sunscreen and not allowing your incision sites to have prolonged sun exposure is the most important factor to help prevent scarring. Secondary treatment with any silicone based scar cream (e.g. Mederma or biocorneum) can also be used. I usually recommend physical scar massage for the first several months of healing as well.Your plastic surgeon probably has his/her own protocol. Best Regards,Dr. Stutman

I recommend Biocorneum to the majority of my post surgical patients because it is silicone based and has a great sunscreen in it.

There are so many different products out there it is hard to prove any of them work better than any of the other ones. The reality is most probably do not make a difference, however the risk of use is low. Ultimately the scar is determined by genetics, and location of the scar and the amount tension on the closure and with movement.I recommend my patients use a good sunscreen to prevent tanning of the scar and taping of the scar with 3m kind tape or paper tape. Taping seems shield the scar from some of the tension. For those that want to go the extra distance over tape they can try the embrace dressing by Neodyne but the cost and skin rashes has been a factor for some patients.