Improving your scars after plastic surgery is a very frequent discussion that I have with my patients. The first thing that I tell my patients are that scars take a while to mature, typically, minimum six months but usually about a year. In that time, there's a lot things that they can do and that I can help them with to help their scars look better.

The first thing is using paper tape or silicone sheeting. These methods help with applying pressure to the incision and keeping the incision hydrated. This has been shown to help with scars, at least in my practice. The next thing is massage. After about three weeks, patients start massaging their incision lines several times a day using their fingers just like this and working their incision. This helps keep the scar soft. The next thing, if the scar has significant redness to it, I'd like to wait at least six months to a year, and at that time, you can do some laser to help pull the redness out.

The last and most important thing is to give it time. It takes about 12 months for a scar to fully mature. At that time if the scar is not satisfactory, I would then consider a formal scar revision. What patients need to know is that you're trading one scar for another scar. I hope this helps.

How to Improve Post-Surgery Scarring: Ask Your Doctor About These Methods

Dr. Gaurav Bharti discusses several methods and treatments that he utilizes in his practice to ensure that his patients are as satisfied as possible with their post-surgery scars.