Silicone gel sheets vs Bio oil for breast uplift scars?

Thank you for your question. Breast incisions can be managed using a multimodal approach:1) Scar massage - starting as soon as the surgical dressings come off and the incisions are sealed2) Silicone sheets or scar gels for about six months to year3) Embrace - a tension reducing dressing for the first 2 months4) Fractionated lasers to help blend the scar into the background - done as a series, starting about 4 weeks after surgery and repeated every four weeks for six months.5) Sunscreen to prevent the scars from darkeningThe main role for silicone sheets is to keep the incisions hydrated during the remodelling phase of the scar maturation. This allows the underlying cells to work in a more optimized fashion. The brand is less important but compliance usually follows ease of use. Silicone usually has less skin irritation concerns with use compared to adhesives. They can also be re-used.  The main disadvantage of a cream or oil is that it gets rubbed off on clothing and loses its efficacy throughout the day.

I have found that silicone, either in the form of a gel such as Biocorneum or in the form of silicone sheeting provides the best results for scar therapy.  If finances are a significant concern, I have seen nice results with the inexpensive Bio-oil.  Good luck!

Silicone tape has proven to be very effective, but every surgeon has his or her own post op protocol. So, I would suggest that you ask your surgeon. Best, Dr. Nazarian

Thanks for posting your question. I get asked this sort of thing everyday.There is no scientific evidence that Bio Oil specifically has any advantage over other scar oils or creams - it is the moisturising and physical massage that is the important bit. Silicone can be really helpful to speed up a scar's maturation - getting it to go pale and soft.At the end of the day, to give yourself (and your scars!) the best opportunity for a good outcome, my advice is often to use both approaches.I hope that helps!

Thank you very much for your email enquiry.
Generally we would recommend a silicone based treatment for breast uplift
scars. These can either consist of
silicone sheets or silicone preparations such Cica-care or Prosil. Cica-care a gel that has been used to reduce
scarring and Prosil is a stick which can be placed on the scar.

I think either of these would be very helpful
in reducing the scarring and helping it fade with time.

I hope the scars settle to your satisfaction
and if you have any queries about them it may be sensible to post some photos
to the RealSelf forum to enable plastic surgeons to answer them. AR

The person that is in the best position to give guidance about this is your surgeon, but generally if you are healing well there is no advantage using a silicone sheet.It would also depend on the specific skin type and the individual tendency to form hypertrophic scars or keloids.