Surgery that leaves no scars? Not exactly . . . PART ONE

Plastic surgeons have earned a reputation as being able to perform surgery without leaving scars. The truth of the matter is that any time the skin is cut, it heals with a scar. Scars are a part of normal wound healing. The trick is to disguise the scar!

The human eye is drawn to straight lines, textural differences, and contour irregularities. Camouflage patterns work by trying to blend objects into their natural surroundings. Take a look.

There is an iguana in this picture. It’s hard to see because its color pattern and skin texture blends with the surrounding rocks.

Here’s a close-up. Its spines make it easier to see because they don’t blend with the surroundings.

The face has a number of natural shadows where we can hide scars. Face lift incisions are hidden in front of your ear and in your hair line. Brow lift incisions are hidden in your hair line. Reconstructive procedures hide incisions along your nose and around your mouth.

Here is a preoperative photo of a patient with a skin cancer at the base of her nose.

Here is the same patient, six weeks following surgery to remove the cancer and repair the defect.

Here’s the same photo, showing you where the scars are hidden.

While it’s impossible to perform surgery without leaving scars, we can create them in areas of the face where they are hidden. We’ll continue this topic in future posts where we share our strategies for hiding scars.