What is the Best Way to Remove a Scar from Brachioplasty Surgery?

Hello! Thank you for the question! It is common for scars to fully mature for up to a year. In the meantime, there are a few things that may help to ameliorate your incision/scar. The most proven (as well as cheapest) modality is simple scar massage. Applying pressure and massaging the well-healed scar has been shown to improve the appearance as it breaks up the scar tissue, hopefully producing the finest scar as possible. Other things that have been shown to add some benefit, albeit controversial, are silicone sheets, hydration, and topical steroids. In addition, avoidance of direct sunlight to the incision will significantly help the appearance as they tend to discolor with UV light during the healing process. If unsightly scars are still present after approximately a year's time, other things that your surgeon may consider are intralesional steroid injections, laser, or just surgical revision of the scar itself. Lasers may also be an option for the appearance of your scar.  If still no results, consideration for lasers, steroids, or scar revision may be entertained.

Dear Fletcher777,

When it comes to post-brachioplasty scars, it's important to set realistic expectations. While scars cannot ever be completely removed, there are several treatments and strategies available to significantly minimize their appearance and improve their texture.

Scar Maturation: Initially, allow the scar to go through its natural maturation process. Over the course of several months to a year, many scars will fade and become less noticeable.

Silicone Gel or Sheets: These have been shown to help in the reduction of scar height and discoloration. They provide a moist environment that can help flatten and soften the scar.

Topical Treatments: There are various creams and ointments that contain ingredients like vitamin E, onion extract, or other formulations that might assist in improving scar appearance.

Laser Therapy: Specific laser treatments can reduce redness, improve texture, and promote overall scar improvement.

Steroid Injections: For hypertrophic or keloid scars, which are raised and can sometimes be itchy or painful, steroid injections can help flatten and soften the scar.

Microneedling: This procedure can stimulate collagen production and help blend the scar more with surrounding skin.

Scar Tattooing: As you pointed out, there's also scar tattooing or medical tattooing, which can be used to camouflage a scar, making it blend better with the surrounding skin. This technique can be especially helpful if a scar remains discolored even after it has matured.

Surgical Revision: In cases where the scar is particularly wide, raised, or irregular, a surgical revision might be considered to improve its appearance.

Remember, it's crucial to protect the scar from the sun, as sun exposure can cause the scar to darken or discolor, making it more noticeable. Also, always consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist to discuss the most appropriate treatments for your specific scar and skin type.

In conclusion, while complete removal of a scar is not possible, a combination of time, appropriate treatments, and sometimes even artistry (like scar tattooing) can significantly improve and minimize its appearance.

Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

Plastic surgery scars require attention after surgery so that they remain cosmetically-appealing and barely noticeable. In our office, we use a protocol for scars that minimizes their activity in the 6-8 weeks after surgery. If you have late plastic surgery scars, you may also require laser and RF therapy to help reduce the longterm effects of the scarring. Keloids, hypertrophic scars, widened scars, red scars, and hyperpigmented scars all require scar modulation with topical creams followed by lasers and RF therapy. Topical skincare should be directed to a specific need, whether for pigmentation or hypertrophy and our office can guide you through the process to obtain the correct Plato’s Scar cream or Melarase cream for hypertrophy and discoloration. In terms of lasers, we would employ the vbeam laser for redness, Venus Viva RF, PRP microneedling, chemical peels, and Morpheus 8, fractional erbium, or fractional co2. All of these have their individual benefits. Most of all, we recommend you visit a solid plastic surgeon who understands surgical scar revision, laser therapy, and RF therapy for scars.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

It's safe to say that it's impossible to perform arm lift surgery without scarring. This operation trades stretch-marks and loose skin for a scar that's hopefully well positioned. It's important to understand that wound healing is a dynamic process that goes on for 12 to 18 months following surgery. During this period of time, scars have the potential to undergo significant remodeling and become less noticeable.It's important to take steps in the post-operative period to minimize scarring. A variety of maneuvers have been utilized to minimize scarring. These include techniques designed to decrease tension on the wound closure, examples include ster-strips, silicone scar sheeting and compressive support devices.Massage of scars with a variety of topical agents has been shown to be helpful, as well. It's also important to avoid sun exposure and tanning. In the occasional patient who develops hypertrophic scarring, steroid injections may also be helpful. When adverse scarring occurs despite these maneuvers, scar revision is occasionally necessary.If you're concerned about scarring following arm lift surgery, you should discuss these issues with your plastic surgeon. Your surgeon should be able to formulate a treatment plan that addresses scarring in the post-operative period.

Removing a scar from brachioplasty surgery can be challenging, but there are several methods you can consider:1. Silicone Gel Sheets: These can help soften and flatten the scar over time, 2. Topical Creams: Over-the-counter or prescription creams containing ingredients like silicone, onion extract, or vitamin E may help reduce the appearance of scars.3. Steroid Injections: Your surgeon can recommend corticosteroid injections to reduce scar inflammation and redness.4. Laser Therapy: Laser treatments can be used to improve the texture and color of scars.5. Surgical Scar Revision: In some cases, a revision surgery can be performed to improve the appearance of the scar.6. Microneedling: This procedure involves creating tiny wounds in the skin to stimulate collagen production and improve scar texture. Always consult with your surgeon for the best approach, as the effectiveness of scar removal methods may vary depending on the scar’s size, location, and your individual healing process.

Thanks for your question.  Unfortunately there isn't a way to remove scars.  However, scars can be made less noticeable depending on the specific scar.  Wide scars can be made thinner.  Scars that are higher or lower than the surrounding tissue can be made flat.  And scars that are a different color than the surrounding tissue can be made closer in color. It really depends on our specific set of circumstances.

There is no way to remove a scar. Once present, it is always there.

There are ways to improve certain scars. Sometimes this involves topical agents, sometimes injection, sometimes laser.

Occasionally surgery to revise the scars is the best approach with the expectation that the new scar will be more favorable.

Discuss your options with your surgeons.

Thank you for the question.

Arm lifting is an great procedure to improve the contour of the arms and remove  redundant skin and adipose tissue;  the downside is a relatively high rate of unsatisfactory scarring and the need for revisionary surgery.  One of the keys to success with this operation is keeping the resulting scar line as “hidden” as possible. Unfortunately, there is no way of “removing the scar” after any type of surgical procedure.

I hope this helps.

While there is no way to eliminate scarring it can be controlled, 3 things make scars poor

1. Wide Scars 2. Raised scars 3. Red scars.

Wide scars need to be surgically revised, Raised scars I recommend topical silicone gel strips, Red Scars can be lightened using IPL or bleaching creams. Seek out someone who is board certified and has experience in the procedure. Good luck!

In our practice we would perform a scar revision.  There is less tension on the tissue resulting in a much more appealing incision line.