Does Body Lift Surgery Leave Permanent Scarring? - Cosmetic Surgery Guide


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Body Lift surgery will leave permanent scarring on your body. This is because of the intrusive nature of surgery; your skin is being literally cut open and your body will be remodelled to suit your new weight. The levels of scarring that are experienced by patients of the Body Lift procedure vary from person to person - some people will experience very little long term obviously visible scars, whilst others will suffer from much more severe scarring.

The level of scarring generally experienced

Most people will suffer from quite obvious scarring in the initial first few months after your treatment. These scars differ in colour and obviousness, but are generally a dark red or purple colour. Because of the severity of the surgery, scars will be noticeable for a long time, maybe even forever – though the extent and severity of scarring on individual people will differ from person to person. It is recommended that the average healing process of intense surgical scarring is anything from 1 year to 18 months. After this amount of time, your body should be well on its way to healing the affected area, and many people are left with a silvery outline which can be very subtle.

Your surgeon will work on your body as to reduce the visibility of scarring as best as they can. Usually, the incisions during surgery are made as to where your underwear would be. This means that when you are in swimwear on holiday or just in your underwear, the scars should be relatively hidden. This is the general aim, though it is important to remember it is not possible to be so successfully hidden in certain people's cases.

Some people naturally cope with scarring better than others. In order to get a bit of an idea as to how the scarring will affect you personally, it may be a good idea to think about any previous scars you may have had, and how you have reacted to the healing process. Talk to your surgeon about the level of scarring they could be seen to expect for you, and you should be able to get a better idea of your individual results.

Particularly bad scarring

As noted above, some people do react quite badly to scarring. You should know if you do not take well to the healing process of scars just by looking over the skin on your body. However, as well as a natural inclination to healing well and quickly or not, particularly bad scarring can occur if you undergo any complications as a result of your surgery.

One of the main things that can deter your general healing process and increase the intensity of scarring is if your stitches split, or you require extra surgery immediately after your initial procedure due to a complication such as infection or excessive bleeding. By opening the wound up again, the skin and body is undergoing double the amount of strain. Although not always the case, this can lead to quite nasty scarring. To avoid this happening, it is absolutely essential that you follow all of the advice and recommendations given to you by the surgeons and other medical staff tending to you. You will be advised to rest and take life very easily for the first few days to a week, so it is important that you do not do anything too stressful or straining on the body.

Methods of reducing the scars left from surgery

There are several recommended methods of reducing the look of scars caused from surgical procedures, though it can be an expensive and time consuming process.

If you wish to have your scars treated professionally, it is important that you wait for at least a year after your initial surgery. One year is the average maturation period for the healing of scars, though on some people it can take slightly longer or slightly less time. You should notice quite a considerable difference in the appearance of your scar after 6 months and 12 months, but if you are still not happy with the marks left on your body, then yet further surgery could be an option for you. In scar reduction and removal surgery, the scar tissue will be excised and then the wound will be closed very carefully. This does not guarantee to totally remove the scar, but it has been noted to improve the scar's appearance. This process can be pricy though, and if you have undergone both the gastric bypass and the Body Lift surgery, the idea of even more surgery might be quite unappealing.

Another professional option is the dermabrasian treatment. Dermabrasian works as a kind of sander, literally sanding down the layers of skin where the scar is. This has been advised as a painful treatment, and can also be very expensive.

A completely pain free but much more time consuming method are the do-it-yourself methods. These usually consist of applying different lotions, creams or gels to the afflicted areas on a daily basis over a period over a few months. Maybe of these products claim to reduce the appearance of scars gradually over this time, but unless you follow the treatment perfectly, the treatment will not work. This takes a lot of patience, and you may find yourself getting frustrated at an expensive product that doesn't work. There is no really good way of determining which products do or do not work, unfortunately. Consumer reviews conducted by independent companies and websites can usually shed a little light on which product is the best for you, but these are not 100% factual and are generally opinion based.

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