What is the best way to treat a Tummy Tuck incision?

Regarding the potential for a red raised scar please note the following advice that I recommend to my patient in these circumstances:Best Scar Management is important to minimize or completely hide from view, the tell tale signs of surgery – namely, scars. Both you and your surgeon want you to have the most minimal scarring possible from your surgery. Patients with scars that are enlarged or not healing well after surgery can be from many causes. Unsightly scars are most commonly due to genetics, underlying medical conditions or improper scar/wound care. The last part is very important and patients can make a noticeable difference in their scars’ appearance by following best scar management practices. Here are some simple tips.Scar Management tips:1- Minimize tension on the scar – Steri Strips and/or surgical tape are often placed in non-hair bearing areas to minimize tension and keep pressure over the scar. This minimizes the stress that can pull the scar apart (dehiscence) creating a wound and delaying healing time, and can make the scar wider, or more “ropy”.2– Keep your incision site/scar clean to prevent infection. Follow your surgeon’s wound care instructions to the letter with out modification. NEVER apply different products then recommended without first discussing them with your surgeon. This is especially important during the first few weeks. If there are any signs of infection contact your surgeon’s office immediately and/or see your doctor or his nurse immediately. Typical signs of infection may include redness outside the immediate incision site, asymmetric swelling, and drainage, of pus, fever, chills, and “feeling sick”.3. –Protect your scars from the sun - staying out of the sun is the best advice. Minimal exposure to sunlight is prevents hyperpigmentation (permanently turning brown) and other problems that can make the scar more noticeable. Sunscreen, at least 30 SPF and an overlying make camouflage make up additionally protects the scar from the suns harmful rays. This advice is especially important the first year following your surgery.4. – Use specific scar maturation products recommended by your surgeon. Patients seem to have their own opinions on this touting everything from Pure Vit E, Coco butter, to Aloe Vera, etc but most have minimal benefit other than keeping the scar hydrated. Although hydration is important there are better, scientifically studied products with greater efficacy. Most of the scientific articles written about this subject indicate that topical silicone gel or silicone sheets work the best. There are a lot of products to choose from, but silicone should be one of the key ingredients. Although Mederma, an onion extract derivative active ingredient rather than mainly silicone based may help, primarily silicone based products are better and many also contain other ingredients that may be synergistic (hydrocortisone or other steroid, Vitamin E, Sunscreen,etc). At the present time I prefer BioCorneum or Kelo-Cote products and if the reader has problems obtaining these they can call my office. Patient compliance is also critical – use often and according to directions or it will not work optimally. NEVER apply products without first discussing them with your surgeon.5. – Monitor to make sure your scar is progressing optimally. Keep your scheduled follow-up appointments with your surgeon to verify that your scars are maturing as expected. Occasionally if indicated you may need a topical steroid preparation or even a series of injections (5-FU and/or Steroids) or laser treatments to treat or prevent scar hypertrophy or keloid formation (red raised scars), or other topical medicines to treat post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (brown scars) with prescription creams and possible laser treatments.#tummytuck#TT#scarmanagement

All patients are different in their healing but usually the  incision heals well without any extraordinary measures. Your doctor will determine if anything else needs to be done.

When a tummy tuck is performed well, there should be very little that you have to do to take care of the incision. You should speak with your plastic surgeon about this and he/she should be able to guide you. Also, during your routine post-op appointments, you will have the opportunity to have your surgeon assess your healing and make recommendations about healing. 

To improve the appearance of a tummy tuck scar, the best treatment is a new type of silicone sheeting called Embrace. It's a clear, silicone tape that is applied to the incision about a week or two after surgery. Your surgeon's staff will show you how to apply it the first time in the office. Each application lasts one week, then you remove it, and apply a new one- for 8-12 weeks. This takes tension off the incision and reduces the thickness of the scar and lightens the color of the scar. Best wishes,Dr.Bruno

Although there is nothing specific that can be done to actually speed up the healing process there are definitely measures that can be taken to prevent infection and give the best scar. Your surgeon will have a specific postoperative protocol that they ask you to follow and you would be well advised to follow those instructions closely. Part of those instructions for most surgeons will include a pressure garment which will help relieve tension on the wound as well as improve the final scar through the pressure effect itself. Make sure you wear these as much as possible. Otherwise, make sure to keep your incisions clean and dry once the initial dressing comes off to give your body the best environment to allow it to heal. Later down the road you can consider things like silicone sheeting or scar gels to minimize the final scar appearance. Make sure to discuss this with your surgeon ahead of time so you have a clear plan in your mind for your entire post-operative period.Hope that helps!

First, wound infections are quite rare (at least in my practice) so I wouldn't anticipate or plan for how to treat it.  Infections have different etiologies (i.e., staph, MERSA, to name just two) and the treatment modalities will depend upon the source.  Compliance with your plastic surgeon's postop regimen, which should be provided to you after the surgery, is extremely important.  Additionally, the progression of healing cannot be sped up.  It takes a full year for the incision to reach its final point.  If you need silicone sheeting, steroid injections or other adjuvant treatments as a consequence of scar hypertrophy, then these will be recommended or prescribed for you.  DIscuss your concerns at your preop visit to the plastic surgeon.

I always explain to my patients the best way to take care of incisions and how to avoid infection. This is independent and each physician has their own way. Seek the care of an experienced plastic surgeon and make sure they answer all of your questions.

At your preoperative visit you will be given an overview of the process and cleaning instructions prior to surgery. Your surgeon will give you a postop protocol to follow which involves for the most part keeping things clean. There is no guaranteed way to prevent all incision issues after surgery, and no way to really speed it through the process really. Healing occurs along a very predictable time table. Your surgeon will be there to monitor the progress and should be the
first to notify you if things arent going as planned and give you the
gameplan to get it back on track if needed.

We have had excellent results using Micropore tape to support the incisions and SkinMedica's Scar Recovery Gel applied twice per day. Scars are "manipulatable" for six months after surgery. It takes that long until the scars reach steady state equilibrium and are considered "healed". During that time if tension across the scar can be avoided (the paper tape helps support the scar) there is a lower chance that the scar will heal in a heavy fashion. Also, the Scar Recovery Gel seems very effective. it contains dimethicone and Bulbine Frutescens that decrease water loss through the scar that causes inflammation. It contains Oleoreupin (olive leaf extract) that is an anti-inflammatory and Centella Asiatica that shifts the wound healing from less mature scar (Type III) to more mature scar (Type I). We have noticed that with this protocol, our patients scars are less red and raised and seem to mature more quickly than without. We have patients tape for 3-4 months and apply Scar Recovery Gel for 5-6 months. Best wishes.

Prior to your surgery, your surgeon will give you post operative instructions as well as see you for routine appointments to monitor your healing.  Trust your surgeon, as he will discuss scar management.  We all want the best scars for our patients.  Best wishes!