Scarring from excision? Please respond!

[absoluta]

I'm having excision/lipo for a mild case in about a month. I am 20 and in good shape, and I'm wondering how much scarring I should expect from the subareola incision. More importantly, how noticeable is the scarring a week later, a month later, 2 months, etc? I'm going to the beach 2.5 months later and it'd be reassuring to know that no one will notice. Thanks!

[tatatoothy]

My scars were slightly pinkish after a couple of months.. You really couldn't tell they were there unless you were looking really closely and knew what to look for.  The drain holes on the sides were a little more noticable, more brownish (I'm fairly light skinned).  

From what I've read, you are supposed to stay out of the sun for up to a year because the UV rays can make the scars darker and more "reddish".  That being said, I'm going to the caribbean in two weeks, which will be 4.5 months post op.  I plan on using a ton of sunscreen, but I will be out in the sun.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Silicone sheeting or silicone based scar management products are supposed to help lighten the appearance of scars.  I used it for about a month once the scabbing had gone away.

I've got some pictures posted in the following thread, but no closeups of the nipples:

http://www.gynecomastia.org/cgi-bin/gyne_yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=14;action=display;num=1141296052

[MikeO]

I was going to post a question like this myself, wondering what other people's experiences were.  I had the surgery about 4 weeks ago and the areas around the scars are still quite red. I wouldn't want to take my shirt off in front of anyone at this point since there's no way any one could miss them. (I'm otherwise very happy with everything at this point though.)

[Texan]

Tatatoothy, how much weight have you lost? The pics look great, I can see a lot of loose skin from your fat loss.

I'm also interested in the scars. I'm tanning right now to hopefully reduce the visible scarring. Is there any harm in this? I'm hoping to get noticibly tanner before surgery, so it'll last for the 6 months or so that my body wont see UV rays, heh.

[Grandpa Bambu]

jal....

Check out my pics. I have two areola/nipple close-ups ( week 32 ). Scroll down to the bottom of the page. They are the last two pics.

You should be good to go at about week 12.  

John

[tatatoothy]

Texan,

I started at 215 pounds two years ago.  The before pics were taken at 175 over a year ago.  The afters are at 180 pounds.   The loose skin is a bugger though.  Thanks for the compliment!  

I'd think tanning before surgery is fine and may help keeping a darker complexion if your body holds a tan really well.  I got a spray on tan from a tanning salon last week and it came out looking pretty darn good.  It cost $25 and only lasts a week, but it may come in handy if you are going on vacation and don't want the scars to contrast a pale skin tone.

[Texan]

No problem Tata.

I researched it a little more and found out that being in the sun isnt bad as long as you have some sun screen over ur scars. Although it could look a little weird with white stuff all over your nipple alone.

[Texan]

So are you saying people with lighter complexions (like myself) dont scar as bad as darker complexioned people?

[Texan]

Hmm, I'm gonna look into that a little more.