I had a breast lift/augmentation Aug 2017, and just wondering why there is a portion of much darker skin right under my areola. I'm hoping that this is actually a scar and not a portion of my areola that was sutured in a weird way, since it seems to be the same color as my areola...I have been putting silicone strips/scar cream on the area, but it hasn't seemed to lightened much. Just wanted an opinion on why it looks the way it does. Any recommendations for scar treatment would also be great.
October 28, 2018
Answer: Breast lift scars, why are they different colors? The darker scar is residual areola pigmented skin. Sometimes during breast lifting or reduction surgery, all of the excess areola skin (pigmented) cannot be removed, without distorting breast shape. If this pigment is of concern, a secondary procedure can usually be performed ( I usually ask patients to wait six months to one year) without breast distortion. In our practice, this excision is usually done under local anesthesia and is associated with a minimal recovery experience. Best wishes.
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October 28, 2018
Answer: Breast lift scars, why are they different colors? The darker scar is residual areola pigmented skin. Sometimes during breast lifting or reduction surgery, all of the excess areola skin (pigmented) cannot be removed, without distorting breast shape. If this pigment is of concern, a secondary procedure can usually be performed ( I usually ask patients to wait six months to one year) without breast distortion. In our practice, this excision is usually done under local anesthesia and is associated with a minimal recovery experience. Best wishes.
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October 28, 2018
Answer: Retained Areolar Tissue beneath Nipple The dark tissue along the upper portion of the vertical scar is retained areolar tissue. You look like you had fairly large areolar complexes prior to surgery. Depending on your nipple position preop, sometimes the lift pattern needs to be made in such a way that there is a small amount of areola that cannot be removed at the initial surgery, as it would affect skin closure. At this point, the skin has healed and stretched enough that removal of this tissue can easily be done. This could be done under local anesthesia in an office setting. The lower portion of your scar looks good, and I would expect you to heal well from this. I don't think scar gels/laser will work because it is areolar tissue more so than scar. Best Regards.
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October 28, 2018
Answer: Retained Areolar Tissue beneath Nipple The dark tissue along the upper portion of the vertical scar is retained areolar tissue. You look like you had fairly large areolar complexes prior to surgery. Depending on your nipple position preop, sometimes the lift pattern needs to be made in such a way that there is a small amount of areola that cannot be removed at the initial surgery, as it would affect skin closure. At this point, the skin has healed and stretched enough that removal of this tissue can easily be done. This could be done under local anesthesia in an office setting. The lower portion of your scar looks good, and I would expect you to heal well from this. I don't think scar gels/laser will work because it is areolar tissue more so than scar. Best Regards.
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October 29, 2018
Answer: Breast lift Thank you for your excellent photos. The reason for the different colors to your scar is that the upper portion of the scar contains pigment from your areola. It appears that during your lift, your surgeon could not completely eliminate all the areolar pigment, from where the areola was moved. This happens occasionally, especially in patients who have large areola to begin with. This can be addressed by going back and excising the remaining areolar pigment from the scar, once the inframammary skin has had sufficient time to stretch out and relax. I recommend going back to your surgeon and expressing your concerns.
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October 29, 2018
Answer: Breast lift Thank you for your excellent photos. The reason for the different colors to your scar is that the upper portion of the scar contains pigment from your areola. It appears that during your lift, your surgeon could not completely eliminate all the areolar pigment, from where the areola was moved. This happens occasionally, especially in patients who have large areola to begin with. This can be addressed by going back and excising the remaining areolar pigment from the scar, once the inframammary skin has had sufficient time to stretch out and relax. I recommend going back to your surgeon and expressing your concerns.
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