What is the Best Way to Treat and Minimize Cannula Scars After Liposuction/BBL?

Best Scar Management is important to minimize or completely hide from view, the telltale signs of your surgery—namely, scars. Both you and your surgeon want you to have the most minimal scarring possible. There are many possible causes for scars that are enlarged or not healing well. Unsightly scars are most commonly due to genetics, underlying medical conditions, or improper scar/wound care. The last part is very important and patients can make a noticeable difference in their scars’ appearance by following best scar management practices. Here are some simple tips.

Scar Management tips:
Minimize tension on the scar. Steri-Strips and/or surgical tape are often placed in non-hair bearing areas to minimize tension and keep pressure over the scar.  This minimizes the  stress that  can pull the scar apart (dehiscence) creating a wound and  delaying healing time, and can make the scar wider, or more “ropy”.
Keep your incision site/scar clean to prevent infection. Follow your surgeon’s wound care instructions to the letter with out modification. Never apply different products then recommended without first discussing them with your surgeon. This is especially important during the first few weeks. If there are any signs of infection, contact your surgeon’s office right away and/or see your doctor or his nurse immediately. Typical signs of infection may include redness outside the immediate incision site, asymmetric swelling, and drainage, of pus, fever, chills, and “feeling sick”.
Protect your scars from the sun. Staying out of the sun is the best advice. Minimal exposure to sunlight is prevents hyperpigmentation (permanently turning brown) and other problems that can make the scar more noticeable. Sunscreen, at least 30 SPF and an overlying make camouflage make up additionally protects the scar from the suns harmful rays. This advice is especially important the first year following your surgery.
Use specific scar maturation products recommended by your surgeon. Patients seem to have their own opinions on this touting everything from Pure Vit E, Coco butter, to Aloe Vera, etc but most have minimal benefit other than keeping the scar hydrated. Although hydration is important there are better, scientifically studied products with greater efficacy. Most of the scientific articles written about this subject indicate that topical silicone gel or silicone sheets work the best.  There are a lot of products to choose from, but silicone should be one of the key ingredients. Although Mederma, an onion extract derivative active ingredient rather than mainly silicone based may help, primarily silicone based products are better and many also contain other ingredients that may be synergistic (hydrocortisone or other steroid, Vitamin E, Sunscreen,etc). At the present time I prefer BioCorneum or Kelo-Cote products especially on areas that silicone strips aren’t applicable, for example, on the face. If the reader has problems obtaining these they can call my office. Patient compliance is also critical – use often and according to directions or it will not work optimally. NEVER apply products without first discussing them with your surgeon.
Monitor to make sure your scar is progressing optimally. Keep your scheduled follow-up appointments with your surgeon to verify that your scars are maturing as expected.  Occasionally if indicated you may need a topical steroid preparation or even a series of  injections (5-FU and/or Steroids) or laser treatments  to treat or  prevent scar hypertrophy or keloid formation (red raised scars), or other topical medicines to treat post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (brown scars) with prescription creams and possible laser treatments. The type of laser is determined by the color  and type of scar (e.g. pink/red vs brown, raised vs flat)

    The best way to minimize scars is to make the fewest number of incisions possible without compromising the quality of work done.  I have found that the minimum number of incisions is 3.  I have done this procedure several hundred times, and, though requiring mastery, it can be done this way.  These are about 5 mm in length and are difficult to detect at one year.  No particular scar treatment is better than another.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

The scars that remain after a BBL are usually very small and are from the small tubes that remove fat and put the fat back in. Those of us who specialize in BBL surgery are very good at hiding those scars. I personally do not use drains during my BBLs and also do place sutures in the small openings. This helps the scars to heal reasonably well. I find that those docs who do not suture the openings are often left with poor scars. You should ask your surgeon for a scar gel that can be applied starting 1 weeks after surgery. This will help. No need to plan for laser treatments as these may be totally unnecessary.

The incisions with a Brazilian Butt Lift are usually very tiny and well hidden.  To get the perfect scar, I recommend that my patients use sunscreen, silicone scar creams or silicone sheeting, and avoiding sun exposure for the incision for 6 months to a year.  Good luck.

A large part of the end result with healing is your own ability to heal in the least visible way. We try to place the scars in the least visible areas where healing is maximized