Hiding the Incision Lines
For most types of facial surgery, your doctor can hide the incision lines or place them where there is a natural crease anyway. For example, if you are having a facelift, your incisions will be made along your hairline or behind your ear. When those incisions heal, there might be minor scarring, but it won’t matter, because no one will see it.
For chin or cheek augmentation, usually the incisions can be made in your mouth, where the scars will not show. Eyelid surgery requires incisions to be made along the creases of your eyelids. For rhinoplasty in Atlanta, some incisions can be made inside of your nose, and others might be hidden in the crease of where your nose meets your upper lip.
Cutting and Suturing
In many cases, your surgeon will cut the skin and then lift it off of the fat layer. This procedure can help the skin stretch more easily and can help prevent scarring.
When suturing, often a two-fold method is used: First, the underneath part of the incision is closed with resorbable sutures that won’t have to be removed. Then the top layers of skin are either glued together or sutured with very fine suturing material to minimize scarring.
Wound Care
Finally, you will be sent home with ointments to put on your skin to aid in healing and to help prevent scarring. These might contain vitamin E or silicone gel. Some patients might have steroid injections to help reduce inflammation, and some will be on antibiotics. It’s extremely important to follow the directions of your surgeon in order to manage your wound’s healing and reduce its chance of leaving a scar.
If you have questions about the healing process for your particular case and your particular procedure, be sure to talk to your surgeon or our other staff members to learn more. Our goal is to help you look your best, and preventing scars is an important part of your plastic surgery.