With breast explant and lift, how can I avoid getting dog ears?

Thank you for the question. There is nothing you could do yourself (except carefully select your plastic surgeon) to help avoidance of dog ears.  Dog ears refer to  the "gathering" of tissue on the ends of incision lines. With appropriate planning/execution of the procedure, they can usually be avoided.   Again, careful selection of plastic surgeon will be key. Also, best (for many reasons) to achieve your long-term stable weight prior to undergoing elective breast surgery.  In "borderline" cases where there is doubt whether breast lifting is necessary or not, I advise patients to undergo explantation only and to give their breasts the benefit of the doubt  before deciding whether breast lifting would be beneficial.  Best wishes.

The best way to help avoid these is with surgeon selection.  I recommend visiting with a board certified plastic surgeon with experience in implant removal and lifts.  Examine credentials and look at before and after photos of the surgeon's work.  Most of all, discuss your concerns with the surgeon to facilitate a dialogue about what you can expect from surgery.

This would be uncommon after an explant with a lift in my experience. If, for whatever reason, you did develop "dog ears" at the end of the surgical incision, this could be corrected under local in the office.