Getting silicone gel implant and crescent lift, how long will it take for my scarring to be unnoticeable?

Most likely you can cover the scars with make up and have your breasts exposed in about two weeks. In general scars of crescent lift fade well within 3-5 months after surgery. but this also depends on the extent of the lift and your skin tone/color.

Camouflage make up, lasers, and over-tattooing your scar can all be used for successful hiding of your scars until they fade which can take up to a year. 

The crescent or periareolar mastopexy is ideal for patients with mild ptosis who require lifting the nipple no more than one to two centimeters and little changes in overall breast shape. During this operation, a periareolar incision (i.e. an incision placed at the junction of the breast skin with the darkly pigmented nipple/areola skin) placed at either the superior aspect of the nipple-areolar complex or surrounding the entire nipple-areolar complex is used. Through this incision, the skin envelope covering the breast tissue is reduced and the breast tissue can be reshaped to a small degree. The advantage to this operation is the minimal amount of scarring which is hidden at the border of the breast skin and areola. The main disadvantages of this operation are that it is not powerful enough for patients with large degrees of sagging, poor skin quality, or flaccid breast tissue. Additionally, the incision placed at the junction of the breast skin and pigmented areola may widen with time, cause flattening of the apex of the breast, and cause “pleating” of the skin that may take several months to resolve.

Scarring after crescent breast lift can be visible for months after surgery. It takes one year for scars to mature and fade to normal skin color. However, with dark lighting, and coverup makeup like dermablend, you can likely go back to work when ok with your physician and the scars will be inconspicuous. I am also not a "fan" of crescent lift-risks can be areolar distortion,  and scar widening with insufficient nipple/areolar lift. 

They may never be "invisible' and these scars tend to be slightly wider than the scars placed beneath the areola. I commonly perform this procedure and you should discuss the potential results with your surgeon as well as review representative photographs. Scars may take anywhere from 3 -24 months to subside in appearance.

Hi there-

While I am not a big fan of the crescent lift procedure, I hope I can help you with your question, which is- how long before the scars look inconspicuous...

The appearance of a surgical scar, its rate of maturation and improvement in appearance, its overall final outcome, all will depend on the following variables:

Your biology, the quality of the incision, the quality of the closure, the type of sutures used, the postoperative care, and how well you follow your surgeon's postoperative instructions...

As you will have very little control over most of these variables, I strongly recommend you exercise strong control over the one variable you CAN control- who does the surgery. Choose well, and choose for the right reasons, and you will be pleased with the final outcome.

Crescent lift scars typically heal very well.  However, every patient heals differently depending on your skin tone and genetics.  There are some things you can do to improve the quality of your scars such as applying silicone sheets, tape, or gel.  These should be worn as much as possible in the first 3 months following surgery, as the majority of the scar maturation takes place during that time frame.  However, it can take 6 - 12 months for the pink color to completely fade in order to see the final result.  I would recommend discussing these concerns and the planned postoperative protocol with the plastic surgeon performing your procedure.  Good communication between patient and surgeon is very important both before and after surgery.  Best of luck with your recovery!
Ziyad Hammoudeh, MD

Thank you for the question.

Unfortunately,  scars associated with breast lifting will always be potentially “noticeable”.

I do not recommend “crescent" breast  lifting;  the operation does very little to improve the position of the nipple/areola.  on the other hand, it is associated with a significant rate of complications such as spreading of the areola and or elongation/distortion of the areola.

Best wishes.

 

The crescent breast lift is designed to remove skin above the nipple to lift the breast, and is most often combined with breast augmentation. The scar will fade as the periareolar scar does, though it may take several months. Waterproof make up can also be used to conceal the area until it has faded in. Note: the crescent lift is often not worth the scar as there is little lift appreciated from this procedure. You might want to rethink placement of scar on the nipple.
Best of luck,
peterejohnsonmd

The scars around the areola can heal very nicely with a  crescent lift, but I do not know of a single surgeon that can guarantee that the scars will not be noticeable to some extent.