Can I have surgery without liposuction scars? Most people find that the benefits of liposuction outweigh any concerns about scarring. But it is important to discuss the scarring issue with your surgeon before the procedure, since scarring is going to be permanent. Additionally, more and more people are having scar revision surgery recently. So the big question is: is it possible to avoid or minimize the scars? Read on to find out everything you need to know about liposuction scars!

What is Liposuction?

Liposuction, which is often referred to as ‘lipo’, is an invasive surgical procedure which aims to remove unwanted fat. Medical instruments, like a cannula, are used to remove the fat from the body. Liposuction in Korea is an incredibly common cosmetic procedure. 

This procedure can be performed on various parts of the body including the abdominal, thighs, arms and face. It can also be performed across multiple areas of the body during the same procedure. 

Liposuction Scars

Any kind of surgery will leave a scar since there will be incisions. But it is important to make these scars as invisible as possible. There are multiple factors that can influence the visibility of liposuction scars. Let’s go over them one by one. 

1. Skin Type

There are some populations who are blessed. Compared to Asian people, like Koreans or Chinese, scars are barely visible in western people, especially Germanic people like northern Europeans or Russians. It seems that invasive surgical procedures leave less obvious scars, even if the skin gets pierced deeply. The main reason is that these ethnic groups have very little melanin pigment, unlike Koreans who may have very ugly and dark scars after any kind of wounds. Same goes for African people, scars will be very obviously dark as well. 

A scar once formed undergoes various changes. The first phase will be a red color which will last 1 year at shortest and up to 2 years at the longest. After that, the scar turns black and then white. So it is red – black – white. Until it turns white, scars will look very obvious. But scars don’t go away even if they turn white.

2. Liposuction Incisions

Depending on the area of liposuction, each procedure will have its own set of incisions that need to be made. 

In the case of regular arm liposuction, surgery is most often performed with incisions at the inside of both armpits, in the elbow, or sometimes in the front armpits, so 2-3 incisions in total. 

For regular thigh liposuction, for the front side, one or two incisions in the groin, and then another below the knee, so most commonly 2 incisions, for the back of the thigh if you are going for a full thigh liposuction, common incision happens under flanks, and another at the panty line.

For abdomen liposuction, most commonly one incision will be made at the belly button, two incisions in the groin. Depending on the surgeon’s preference, incisions under breast for the upper abdomen liposuction, and in the pelvis area for love handle liposuction are also commonly seen, about 9 incisions in total for full front upper body.

For back liposuction, two at armpits, 1-2 piercings in the middle of the back are common incision areas.

For lower back, many surgeons will also perform the surgeries by doing the suction through upper buttocks and flank area. 7 incisions commonly happen for full back liposuction.

For calf liposuction, the back of the knee and ankle are common incision areas, so commonly 2-4 incisions for calf liposuction.

Invisible Liposuction Scars

At Lydian Plastic Surgery Clinic, we pride ourselves for our invisible scarring methods. If you have already had liposuction at another clinic or done your internet research, you know that many liposuction clinics leave behind scars on the patients. Our surgeons at Lydian Plastic Surgery Clinic understand that patients wish for as little scarring as possible. Because of this, we make our surgical incisions in less visible locations so it’s more difficult for anyone, including the patient, to notice the scars.

1. Liposuction Cannula

Dr. An uses a one of a kind cannula, which he has invented himself, that makes one-hole suction possible. Because of this, we were able to reduce the amount of liposuction surgical incisions from 10 to only one or two. This is possible on all areas of the body including the anterior abdomen, back, thigh, and even the knee.

2. Skin Protector

It is possible for the scar to become worse after the surgery, this is mostly due to the friction between the cannula tube and the skin. This friction can cause skin damage or even peel off layers of the skin. At Lydian Plastic Surgery Clinic we use a skin protector to prevent any possible skin damages. A majority of good clinics will make use of these skin protectors, but there are still some clinics that don’t unfortunately. 

3. Wound Sealing

Different types of wound sealing methods can also have an effect on the visibility of the scars. Suturing from inside and outside together will lead to the best result. If the wound gets sutured from the inside, it will remain as a natural line, so it’d better suture from the inside. The majority of surgeons will only seal from the outside since the wounds are rather small. It is highly important to suture as well as possible so there will be as little scarring remaining after the surgery, even though there are many different ways of suturing, and many different ways to treat wounds after. But most importantly, making the least number of incisions will make a huge difference.

Liposuction Before and After Scars

Below is a collection of Liposuction before and after pictures from stomach, arm and chin liposuction scars.

Liposuction Scar Aftercare

There are several things you should do after the wound heals. The most important thing is moisturizing the wounds, you can easily get an ointment for the wound. Scars may get dark when you don’t keep moisturizing the wound, which is quite difficult to heal naturally. With only ointment, you can prevent scars from protruding, redness, and darkening. If you see your scars start protruding, you must tell your surgeon and visit the clinic as soon as possible. Since there may be some injection treatment option for your protruding scars in the clinic, this will take up to numerous times instead of one or two sessions if you treat it early. 

Frequently Asked Questions