I have problems with incision closure. Will it cause more of a scar? (photos)

Dee U,Any Plastic Surgeon who does Mastopexy or Breast Reduction has seen this phenomenon. This type of wound opening is not generally associated with infection, though the open wound will grow skin germs, and that is not a concern. The cause is stress on the skin closure in the presence of foreign material (lots of sutures) and it generally occurs on the wounds that are the farthest from the circulatory supply to that skin. In this case, the open wounds are on the vertical limb of the closure incision of what appears to be a full lift type incision, though it is hard tell from the photos.  It is not a normal process with all wounds, but given the stain and diminished circulation in this area during healing it is also not a rare event.  After the wounds fill in, and that happens faster after foreign material (sutures) are gone, and if the wounds are kept clean, the scars will generally be wide and pink, then turning back to normal skin color. Although it us usually easy to revise those scars, it is surprising how infrequently that proves necessary.  It may take quite a few weeks for this to heal, but healing will occur.   I hope that this helps.      Best wishes,      Tom DeWire, MD, FACS     Richmond, VA