Every human body is unique and is beautiful in its own way. However, sometimes there are aspects of our body that we don’t want to draw attention to. Sometimes we undergo surgery to change them, and sometimes this surgery comes with visible consequences – scarring. Scars are a natural part of the body’s healing process and can occur whenever there has been any sort of damage to the skin and other tissues. There are lots of different types of scars and they can occur anywhere on the body. Unsurprisingly, some are more noticeable than others. While many people are happy to embrace their scars, others would prefer not to draw attention to them. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to prevent and minimize surgery scars. 

Top tips for scar prevention and minimizing

Although your surgeon will do everything that they can to minimize any scarring and hide any incisions in less obvious areas of your body, there are also some important steps that you can take following your surgery to help prevent scars from forming. These include the following:

Quit smoking

Smoking is bad news when it comes to any form of surgery since it increases your risk of complications. However, it also slows your rate of healing, which in turn makes scarring more likely. Smoking is considered so detrimental to surgery that many surgeons will refuse to operate on patients who do not quite smoke for at least a fortnight before their surgery and are committed to abstaining from it for up to 8 weeks after. 

Give up alcohol

Alcohol will dehydrate your body and your skin, which could prolong healing and will increase your risk of scars forming. Drink plenty of water and both your body and your skin will benefit from the hydration it will cause. 

Reach a stable, healthy weight before surgery

Did you know, if you are overweight or obese, you may be at greater risk of scarring? This is because the fat under your skin can make it more difficult for your surgeon to close your incision with the precision need to minimize scarring. By ensuring that you are a healthy and stable weight before your procedure, you could even prevent scars from forming. 

Look after your incisions

One of the most effective ways to prevent scars is to take good care of your wounds whilst they heal. This means keeping infection at bay by following the post-surgical instructions given to you by your surgeon. 

Get plenty of rest

You will need to allow yourself time to heal and recover irrespective of what surgery you have undergone. This is important as if you try to return to your usual activities too quickly, you could place unnecessary stress on your incision which could pull it apart and delay healing. This could make the wound larger than it needs to be, which will, in turn, increase the size of your scar. 

Avoid exposing your scar to the sun

Wherever you can, you should try and avoid exposing your scar tissue to the direct sun. Not only is the new, healing skin more delicate and more likely to burn, but sun exposure can also cause pigment changes that permanently affect your scar tissue. 

If you would like more advice on the best way to prevent and minimize surgery scars, please contact our offices where our team of experts would be delighted to help.