Silicone Strips for Tummy Tuck Scar?

Once the Steri-Strips have fallen off you can start using the silicone sheets. Generally scars take over a year to fully mature. With proper healing they become faint silvery lines. The most important thing to do is to cover up your scars when going out. Sun exposure can make scars worse.

Abdominoplasty scars can be quite complex, ranging from the simple hypertrophic scar to a multiplane inflamed keloid. Pigmentation, discoloration, chronic inflammation, scar visibility can all occur in the short term. We begin each treatment with combination therapy using Yellow broadband BBL, Vbeam, fractional erbium, intralesional IIT, and scar modulation. Start with a combination of Plato's Scar Serum massaged twice daily after one week of epithelialization followed by Luminase/Exfolase. Scar consultation and revision may be recommended.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

From your photographs, the scar line appears very "pleated" with skin folds.  This is largely due to the different lengths of skin that has been stitched together during surgery.  An important thing to understand is to not worry how the wound looks in the very beginning. Any irregularity to the scar line will generally smooth out by 6 weeks post op.  I recommend my patients begin scar treatments and massage at 3 weeks post op. Silicone strips are ideal to help soften and flatten scars, prevent any abnormal formation and relieve any associated itching or discomfort.

When
patients undergo abdominoplasty surgery they’re often concerned about scarring.
A variety of treatment options have been developed to minimize adverse wound
healing following these procedures.The use
of silicone sheets has recently become popular for treating post-operative
scars. This material is typically applied to surgical wounds three weeks after
surgery. This allows adequate time for small areas of break down to heal and
wound edges to seal. Treatment last for variable periods of time, but in most
cases the duration is about three months.This
maneuver is associated with excellent clinical results and high levels of
patient satisfaction. At this point in time, it’s reasonable to use silicone
sheets as long as the wounds are completely sealed.

From the photo, I would tell you that in my opinion, I doubt the silicone strips will make much difference, but they on the other hand will not hurt.  You are only 2 weeks post op, give it time.  You will have a better idea at 3 months whether or not this scar will improve.  If it doesn't, you will likely need a scar revision since the gathering is significant.  But give it time.

I think the silicone strips are helpful.  You are recently post-op and you will be pleasantly surprised how nice the incision will look.  It just takes time for all the healing.

 

Good Luck.

If my patients are developing a hypertrophic scar i will start silicone sheeting, but never before three weeks after surgery.  Make sure you follow the directions and ask your surgeon to advice how long each day to apply. 

The research suggests that this is one of the best options and it certainly has very little risk but it does require effort for compliance. I have not been tremendously impressed with the results in my practice but it is worth the effort to try everything you can to minimize the scar. Avoid sun exposure and watch for skin maceration or fungal infections.

Thank you for your post. In tummy tuck and other lift/tightening surgeries, tension is the enemy. The scar is healing gradually over 12 weeks or so, and until it is strong, it is the weakest link. As there is a great deal of tension in tummy tucks, body lifts, breast lifts, etc., the scar is at high risk of 'stretching' or widening. Silicone sheeting, although having the ability to make a scar flat, does nothing to prevent stretching of the scar. Creams or steroids or lasers also do not have the ability to prevent stretching of the scar. Those are used if scar is thick or dark, but not to reduce the wideness of the scar, which is the main problem. Massage also does not help keep the scar thin, and can actually worsen the scar in the first 12 weeks because you are actually adding tension to the scar. Massage is for softening a hard or thick scar, but if used early, will hasten the scar widening. Only tension reduction has the ability to keep the scar as thin as possible. You may notice in a lot of tummy tuck scars that the center portion of the scar is the widest with the sides toward the hips being the thinnest. This is because the maximum tension is at the center, and least amount on the sides. Embrace removes a lot of the tension by putting more tension on the skin on either side of the incision and drawing the incision together. It is expensive though at about $100 per week for 12 weeks. When patients do not want to spend the money for embrace, I tape the incision trying to remove as much tension as possible for 12 weeks and recommend no stretching back and to sit most of the time, keeping tension off the scar.Best wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD

You have some skin "puckering" around your scar. Some or all of this will resolve with further healing. There are several things you can do to help:


The Silicone or silastic sheets

scar massage with Mederma or the equivalent

Compression from a girdle over the scar


If the skin irregularity does not completely resolve a minor scar revision could be considered, but wait until the healing is more complete. Good luck!