Does revision liposuction leave scars?

Revision liposuction can leave scars but scarring is usual minimal because very small incisions are used to perform liposuction. The degree of scarring depends on the surgeon’s technique and on the patient’s genetic tendency to scar. Incisions are usually made in inconspicuous places on the body so they are not noticeable.

Revision liposuction often requires very small, precise adjustments to the work that has already been done during the first surgery. Therefore, microcannulas may be used. Microcannulas are very small steel tube used to extract the fat deposits from underneath the skin. Microcannulas are inserted through very small incisions and, if scars result, they will be very small.

Scars are possible with liposuction but they are usually very small and strategically located on the body so they cannot easily be seen. Incisions are made so that any scars will be hidden by clothing.
Some scars may be more visible due to how an individual patient heals. In some cases, dyschromia can occur. Dyschromia is a discolored spot on the skin. It is not caused by the surgeon’s technique. Discoloration such as this should not be apparent if the incisions were small and easy to conceal.

Surgical incisions, as well as other injuries to the skin, can produce inflammation which results in hyper-pigmentation. Patients with darker skin pigmentation will experience darker, more persistent post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation. In lightly pigmented skin, hyper pigmentation usually disappears within six months. In darker skin, it may last for 4 years or more.

On the other hand, loss of pigmentation can also result from incisions made for revision liposuction. Trauma can occur at the incision site as a result of the repeated in and out movement of the cannula if the fatty tissue is tough to penetrate. Fat can become tough when liposuction has been performed on the same area before and fibrous scarring has occurred. The extra friction used to penetrate the scarred tissue can injure or kill the pigment cells around the incision, resulting in hypo-pigmentation. This is a risk with revision liposuction.