Christopher Chung, M.D.
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Chief Medical Officer
Sono Bello
Most patients who choose liposuction or body contouring see positive long-term effects—including slimmer, more toned physiques and, for many patients, an overall improvement in their happiness and quality of life.
However, one potential liposuction outcome may seem less than ideal for people considering the procedure: the potential for scars.
The truth is modern liposuction is designed to minimize scarring as much as possible. Mostly, any scars from the procedure heal quickly (and often completely) in just a few months.
Here’s a closer look at everything you need to know about scars from liposuction and some information on what every patient can do during recovery to keep scars from intruding on their goal to achieve their ideal body shape.
Yes, all forms of liposuction have the potential to leave small scars at the incision site. However, modern liposuction procedures are designed to reduce the chance of lasting scars forming.
Sono Bello’s TriSculpt laser liposuction procedure, for example, uses laser technology to heat, liquidate and remove fat from targeted areas of the body. This process allows the Sono Bello surgeon to use micro cannulas, very small tubes used to gently remove fat from the body.
Because this procedure is optimized for use of such small equipment, the surgeon is able to make much smaller incisions—usually only a few inches or about the size of the patient’s pinky finger.
Plus, because the laser technology’s thermal energy actually helps stimulate collagen production in the skin, it is common for laser liposuction patients to see improved skin tightening and smoother final results on treated areas.
The result: when properly treated and cared for during recovery, these small incision sites often heal to produce little to no scarring for most patients. The results can be seen clearly on real patients who have had the Sono Bello laser liposuction procedure.
Patients who choose the laser liposuction procedure typically only experience a small degree of scarring only around the incision sites.
The surgeon usually decides exactly where a patient’s body incisions are made. In most cases, the surgeon will select incision sites most likely to provide the best access to targeted body areas and with the best potential for long-term healing with little to no scarring.
The scars some patients experience after a liposuction procedure is caused by the incisions made by the surgeon.
In order to truly remove fat from the body and provide patients with lasting results, it is necessary for the surgeon to physically remove fat cells from targeted body areas.
This is done with power-assisted liposuction, which uses small tubes (called cannulas) to gently remove fat from the abdomen, arms, back, legs, and other areas with stubborn fat pockets. The incisions made to insert the cannulas in the targeted areas are what can sometimes become scars if not properly cared for during recovery.
For patients looking to remove excess fat and skin from their abdomen who want an alternative to the traditional tummy tuck, Sono Bello’s AbEX procedure is an effective option.
The AbEX procedure removes excess fat from the abdomen and is often combined with fat removal via liposuction to help trim and tone the patient’s tummy.
Because the AbEX procedure involves the removal of excess skin, there is a higher chance of permanent but well-healed scarring for patients. Our AbEX procedure requires an incision that will leave a horizontal scar along your lower abdomen. Generally, the scar that is left behind after surgery sits very low across the abdomen. This makes it easy to hide beneath the waistline of clothing or a bathing suit. Fortunately, there are several steps AbEX patients can take to minimize this scarring so that it heals almost completely, resulting in the positive results seen by so many of Sono Bello’s AbEX patients.
When the laser liposuction procedure is performed by an experienced professional who specializes in body contouring with minimal scarring, there is very little chance that scars from liposuction with significantly impact the final look of a patient’s treated areas.
The likelihood of scars impacting the final results is further diminished with proper treatment and care for incision sites during recovery. By taking care to support healing, patients can further support their final results with little to no visible scars on the treated areas.
Many hospitals, physicians, plastic surgeons, and medical centers do offer scar removal surgeries for patients with major scarring from prior surgeries or traumatic injuries. This may be an option for patients acutely sensitive to scarring after liposuction.
However, for most liposuction patients, this is not necessary for almost all Sono Bello patients. The vast majority of liposuction scars can almost completely heal on their own, leaving many Sono Bello patients with minimal to non-visible scars only a few months out from their procedure.
For most patients, scars from the laser liposuction procedure are almost always permanent. However, the final look of these scars and healed incision sites can vary greatly from patient to patient.
For the most part, laser liposuction scars will heal to the point of being nearly impossible to see when treated correctly and allowed to heal properly.
Every patient heals differently. While most scars from laser liposuction are permanent, they can fade over a period of up to two years.
Fortunately, there are a few simple steps patients can take to help speed the recovery of incisions and help prevent scarring during the recovery process.
Always keep your incision clean. Clean incisions heal better and allow scar tissue to build up less. Cleaning and tending to incision sites according to the surgeon’s instructions is a good way to encourage minimal scar formation.
Apply sunscreen to the wound after it has healed. UV rays and sunlight can directly impact scar formation as well as hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation (lightening or darkening of the skin around the incision site). By keeping the healing wound protected from sunlight, patients can help to minimize scar tissue development.
Use the Mepitac Scar Tape. Sono Bello patients are given Mepitac scar tape to assist in recovery. This can help keep the incision sites covered and protected and encourage effective healing, helping to reduce the chance of visible scars from developing.
It is also important that each patient maintains a healthy lifestyle to keep their body contoured to their ideal look and shape. Factors like post-surgical weight gain or pregnancy could impact the result and cause re-expansion of fat cells or skin in the targeted area.
While most patients’ scars from laser liposuction will not heal “completely,” many patients see scarring so minimal that it is essentially not visible on the final treated body areas.
Usually, patients can expect well-healed scars to be faintly visible (if at all) only on the small incision sites. With time and proper care, these can heal to the point of being nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding skin.
Patients all across the country have achieved their ideal look and conquered stubborn fat pockets with the help of laser liposuction from Sono Bello—and for most of these patients, scars simply are not a major issue.
That’s why thousands of satisfied Sono Bello patients have left over 24,500 five-star reviews online about their experience and shared their stories about living their best life after laser liposuction.
Any patient interested in learning more about Sono Bello laser liposuction should schedule a free consultation with their patient care consultants to begin their journey to their ideal body shape.
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