Wouldn’t it be great if surgery didn’t leave scars? Unfortunately, all surgeries will leave some sort of scar around the surgical incision point(s). If you want to reduce your post-surgical scars, try Fraxel surgical scar revision treatments as part of your post-operative skin care regime.
Some scars will heal better than others, and some incisions are in places where your movements can inadvertently make scars worse during the healing period.
Even some skin types scar more than other skin types (such as Asian or other highly pigmented skin tending to form raised keloid scars).
Many, though not all, scars can be highly minimised – even hidden – by an adept Plastic Surgeon.
First, let’s look at how wounds (incisions) heal. It’s a skin restructuring (renewal) process that can sometimes take months (up to 12 months) to fully heal – and even then, your scars may continue to fade over time.
Note that SILICONE strips can also help reduce cosmetic surgery scars.
For breast surgery, there are several options for incisions for patients, although patient suitability for a particular approach may vary.
Breast Reduction Surgery using the Le Jour incision method (a lollipop incision) leaves a vertical scar, rather than a larger/wider anchor scar.
Facial scars can often be hidden in the hairline, in or behind the ear for a facelift or Otoplasty – or in the normal eye creases for eyelid surgery – or even in the normal skin contours or skin folds (such as for a rhinoplasty nose surgery or a chin lift.)
Body surgery scars can also be strategically placed where they can be readily hidden under clothing or under swimwear (this is often the case for Tummy Tuck or Belt Lipectomy scars and incisions for many other Abdominoplasty procedures).
In terms of hiding or minimising scars, body lift scars including scars from brachioplasty (arm reduction surgery) give most Surgeon’s more of a challenge than other scars.
Upper arm scars from an ARM LIFT or Arm Reduction Surgery, whilst difficult to fully hide, can be placed where the arm meets the inner rib cage when your arms are by your sides.
Whilst dealing with unattractive surgical scars might be bothersome or put you off of surgery, scars can be treated and reduces during your post-op healing stage.
In addition to aiming for minimal incisions where possible and facilitating scar healing (such as with special strips, garments and bandages or early scar-area movement limitations as your scars first start to heal), scars can not only be PLACED in the least obvious possible location, but they can also be treated using skincare lasers, such as Fraxel Restore.
Not every Surgeon makes use of Fraxel laser technology or other available scar minimisation techniques, however. But for a number of our Plastic Surgeon’s body, breast or face surgery procedures, we offer scar minimisation including Fraxel.
Fraxel procedures are not always completely painless, but using numbing cream an hour beforehand can really help. Plus, if the procedure is administered properly by a caring, highly experienced Dermal Clinician or Physician, Fraxel can be quite effective at reducing the formation of scars.
Scars will still take time to heal even with Fraxel, but they will tend to settle better and become less visible with time.
Fraxel is considered by many to be one of the top “gold standard treatments” for revision of various scars, including surgical scars. The others include Micro-needling by a highly-skilled Dermal Clinician, or a combination of peels, supplements and light-based treatments including Healite II.
This is because Fraxel treatments are not only effective, they are considered to be non-invasive and less costly than surgical scar revisions (which may still be necessary for some scars).
Using Fraxel laser is also considered to be a safer and more effective method of scar prevention (and reduction) than some other traditional laser treatments.
Like other lasers and related light therapy treatments (and even similarly to facial peels), Fraxel treatments help to trigger your own innate healing processes (natural healing capacities). This helps your body to increase (speed up) collagen production and skin renewal, which happens anyway – over time – but with Fraxel, more deeply and a bit more quickly.
It still takes time for scars to heal, however – and multiple treatments are usually required over several months during the post-op healing phrase (especially for tummy tuck or other significant scars on your body).
This is especially true if they follow other scar minimisation protocols and our Rapid Recovery healing instructions.
After the Fraxel procedure, however, you might feel slight discomforts or pain.
How long do effects of FRAXEL Laser Treatment last?
If you adhere to your Surgeon’s and your Dermal Clinician’s advice you’ll likely get some beautiful scar minimisation results. This is especially true when compared to what the scar might look like if you didn’t have the treatment.
It is possible you may benefit from additional maintenance Fraxel treatments over the years, but your Clinician can advise you on what might help your scar care over longer periods of time.
If you want to know more about the procedure and how this post-op treatment will minimise scars, consult with our highly experienced Dermal Clinicians or Plastic Surgeons. Start your journey towards a scar less procedure and get LESS scarring after Surgery using our Fraxel treatments.
Whether you’ve had recent surgery and want to minimise your scars or want to refine and rejuvenate your skin, the Fraxel Restore laser is considered to be a gold-standard skin renewal & skin resurfacing treatment.
You can read more about how the treatment works on our other blogs or visit our Fraxel page.
Here are the primary reasons why:
Skin Consultation prior to ANY Rejuvenation procedure is very Important.
Here at Coco Ruby Skin & Anti-Ageing, we recommend that you have a thorough consultation with our expert Dermal Clinicians (or our Aesthetic Physician or Senior Nurse Injectors) to determine what skin treatment will best suit your needs.
Why: Skin assessments prior to ANY rejuvenation treatment are crucial as every two skins are different.
We will take time to ensure that we are selecting the correct treatment to achieve the optimum results for you. Our clinicians will inform you about the possible outcomes you can achieve. And our clinicians will discuss the downtime associated with Fraxel Restore for scar minimisation with you, as well.
The consultation aims to ensure that you are well informed about your Fraxel treatment before proceeding (or other rejuvenation procedures, such as fillers and injectables, Laser Genesis treatments or skin peels).
This also allows your to ask any questions that they may have prior to having the procedure. You can expect some downtime with Fraxel laser treatment. So we want to allow the patient to arrange the time that best suits their schedule.
We want to know how your skin (and health) have been between treatments. With your answers, we can adjust treatments as necessary OR give you some additional individually-specific tips for improved results.
For Fraxel, there is often a numbing agent applied about 1 hour before your treatment.
Sometimes we will use special wraps that will also help the numbing cream penetrate your skin better.
People commonly seek out Fraxel for skin rejuvenation, collagen stimulation and skin renewal. To find out if you’re a suitable candidate for a treatment (or series of treatments) OR if you want to treat a post-surgery to minimise scarring, send an enquiry form today.
Medical References:
Other suggested reading:
Do Silicon Strips & Gels helps reduce Scars?
Send an enquiry form today, or ask for an all-inclusive quote for Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery with Fraxel scar minimisation treatments. For other skin treatments, phone (03) 8849 1400.