Breast Revision Gallery Plastic Surgery in Austin | Patient 67

Patient Details

This patient wanted me to evaluate the result of a previous breast lift procedure done elsewhere. Her breasts were still quite saggy and her scars became hypertrophic—almost keloidal.

She is seen here early after a breast revision. I performed a small breast reduction/breast lift and I removed the old scars. You can see the new improved shape and the relatively nice scars at this time. She is scheduled to return to my office every six weeks for an evaluation for steroid injections and to make sure she is compliant with my instructions.

Lessons to learn:

1. Some black patients can form hypertrophic/keloidal like scars. I felt that in her case, based on her history of the surgery and how she was managed afterwards, that there was a chance that I can control her scarring with massage, compression, silicone strips and periodic steroid injections
2. The idea is to control her scarring early on in the process and not to wait until deep, firm scars have occurred. The idea is to head it off at the pass—she must be an excellent observer of the healing process and intervene when it’s necessary.
3. I want her in a compressive, supportive bra 24/7 for at least a year to ensure fine healing.
4. Any stretching on her scars will result in spread—hence the bra.
5. Not every scar can be made better with plastic surgery. Your surgeon must have experience in the matter of scarring to determine which patient is more likely to benefit and which will not.
6. There are many reasons why this woman scarred like she did. No one can control her genetic propensity to scar, but we can control the other variables that contribute to scarring.
7. Beware the surgeon who recommends the breast lift alternative. It is more tricky than you may think and often a surgeon will perform the most minimal of procedures that really doesn’t make for a nice breast in the longer term. Nicely performed by an experienced surgeon, and the results can make for a very nice improvement. If your breasts have sagged once, they will sag again even after a breast lift and a bra is mandatory for a long term perky breast.