How Bad Are the Lipo Scars? Do They Require Stitches?

Liposuction requires incisions, and these incisions need to be closed with stitches. The incisions lines aren't long (only a couple of centimetres) and they'll heal nicely if you follow your surgeon's post-care instructions. You can try scar treatments, such as silicone cream or sheeting. These help improve the appearance of the scar. Scars fade in about 6 months to a year.

Over the years the number of incision sites has decreased without compromise of results. There is no absolute number of incisions that need to be made - just enough to give the best result which will vary from plastic surgeon to plastic surgeon. Incisions sites for liposuction are typically very small and made in stealth areas - that is hidden as much as possible. I prefer fine absorbable stitches to leave a fine scar. For example inside the belly button, umbilicus, to approach the upper and lower abdomen, just at the pubic hair line for the lower tummy and pubis area, in the groin crease for the inside of the thighs (medial thighs), at the gluteal, buttock, crease for the lower back, in the breast crease for the fat beneath your arm (lateral chest wall), in the crease below your chin for liposuction of the neck. I also like to place them at the edge of a tattoo or in an existing scar (for example C-Section or appendectomy, or mole removal scar) so that they are hidden, or use the open area from an additional surgery I may be doing. For example, during a tummy tuck incisions are made to do liposuction in the area of redundant skin to be removed so that there are no extra scars.

In my practice I close all of my liposuction incisions with sutures.  I find this ensures that the skin edges are appropriately aligned which prevents step offs or unevenness that can make the scar much more noticeable.

 

Liposuction scars are small (3-5mm), usually pretty easy to hide in many areas, and typically closed with a single non-visible and absorbable stitch in my hands. Hope that helps, Dr Kerr

The openings used to put the liposuction cannulas in are very short ( 3 to 6 mm) and are a made by a puncture with a scalpel blade, so the edges are clean.  Some doctors close the incisions with a stitch and some leave them open to close by themselves.  Both approaches give excellent results.  For many areas which are liposuctioned the small openings can be hidden in the natural creases of the body making them even more hidden.