20/07/2020
A question that I commonly face from patients and parents- Will there be scar after cosmetic surgery? Parents bringing a child, who has sustained a laceration (cut) on face- Will there be scar after Plastic Surgery. When I answer yes, they say- Then what is the difference between normal suturing/ surgery and Plastic Surgery, if there will still be a scar. Often patients have great expectations, having seen the 'scarless' results of Plastic Surgery in movies and serials.
The fact is- All cuts, whether caused by accident or made by a Plastic Surgeon for cosmetic surgery will end up with a scar. This is how our bodies know, how to heal the wounds. The human bodies form a wall of scar tissue from deepest layer of the wound, right though to the skin. Some lower animals such as Salamander have properties of scarless healing. They heal their wounds with parenchymal (same) tissue and not with scar. These animals will also grow back their limbs, if these are amputated. The higher animals and human beings don't have such healing capacity.
However, scar is often less visible, when surgery has been carried out by a Plastic Surgeon. In case of cosmetic surgeries, we give incisions (cuts) in hidden locations, although this may make the surgery more difficult/ complex. For example- for a rhinoplasty, we give incisions inside the nose, well knowing that a nasal dorsal incision will be much more visible. Face lift is done from incision just in front of ears, and carried into or in front of hairline and also behind the ear. Other incisions are hidden in the natural skin creases, in non visible areas (In tummy tuck, the incision is very low and hence easily hidden in under garment). For jaw surgery, incision is given inside the mouth, although it makes the surgery many times more difficult compared to a direct skin approach etc. In case of accidental cuts, we can't change the position of skin cut to a hidden area. But our fine techniques and fine sutures, applied with the help of magnification, as well as good postoperative scar care regimen leads to barely visible scars in the majority of cases.
