Will I Have a Permanent Scar After My Tummy Tuck?

An expert plastic surgeon can bring back your youthful looks by sculpting your abdomen through abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) procedure. However, as with any other surgery, your dream washboard abs and flat tummy comes with a price and the price is a scar. If your surgeon is really an expert, he’ll be able to sew you up real nice, but if he’s not, you can get stuck with such ugly scars that may very well make you rue the day you opted for this procedure.

The scar-studded operation

Tummy tuck abdominoplasty involves physical removal of excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen through surgery. The surgeon also tightens the abdominal wall. Although, this procedure dramatically reduces the appearance of a protruding abdomen and stomach, it can leave you with some telltale marks.

Since, abdominoplasty surgical sculpting is much more severe than liposuction, which removes only the localized fat collections, it plays that much more havoc with the body. The problem is the appearance of a long and permanent scar from where excess skin and fat are removed. But you should really thank your stars you’d not gone in for a total body lift, where the scar extends around the entire body!

However, if you really want to play it safe, pray your surgeon recommends mini abdominoplasty, where the scar is the shortest. This is because in mini tummy tuck operation, the amount of loose skin to be removed is the least. In a typical tummy tuck, the scars can extend from hip to hip and another one around the belly button.

Understanding tummy tuck scars

The moment your surgeon lays the scalpel over your skin for tummy tuck surgery, say goodbye to flawless skin! Scarring has to take place. In most cases the scars will extend across the lowest part of your abdomen right above your bikini line. Another scar is likely to be around your belly button. The good news is your swimming suit can hide these scars easily. Many scars heal, but others remain quite visible. So, if you’re concerned about scarring, ask yourself what’s important to you – skin folds or scarring. Of course, if you opt for a tummy tuck procedure, you may feel better with a flatter abdomen and scars than with a bulging belly.

Typically, scars will appear dark and thick a few weeks after the surgery and may continue to look the same for a number of months. You may even find your surgical scars worsening during the first few months. However, with the passage of time, they’ll become thinner, pliable, and less visible. And once the wound heals and improves, the scars will also become less noticeable. And, if you’re lucky, they may just fade way. In some tummy tuck cases, it can take up to a year before most scars flatten out and lighten in color. However, if you’ve a genetic predisposition to poor wound healing, the scars may simply refuse to fade. Your previous scar healing history is a good indicator to find out whether you fall in this category.

Another obnoxious looking condition is a visible raised scar. Although, it’s infrequent, it can very well rear its ugly head. However, most plastic surgeons use techniques designed to make it less common. So, if you’re looking for a plastic surgeon, ask for the postoperative photos of his or her previous patients and look closely at the scars. If they’re thin and fine, it should be fine with you, but if they’re raised and visible, chances of a botched up job cannot be ruled out.

Although, the mere thought of scarring seems unsettling, it should not deter you from getting in shape through tummy tuck. If you follow the surgeon’s advice strictly, you’ll be able to make the scars invisible…well almost!