Request a Consultation
Page 1Group 7Page 1Fill 5 Copy 2Group 5
  • For Women
  • For Men
  • Gender Reassignment

Cosmetic Surgery / Post-Surgical & Scar Treatment Services

Post-Surgical & Scar Treatment Services

Scarring is a natural part of the healing process, including after aesthetic surgery. Dr. Marc DuPéré makes precise incisions in areas where they can be concealed whenever possible, but certain procedures involve visible scars. That's why Visage Clinic offers a range of scar treatment services not available at other Toronto-area plastic surgery practices.

Request a Consultation

A Natural Part of the Healing Process

Even though no surgeon can prevent scarring, a plastic surgeon with Dr. DuPéré’s expertise and experience can minimize the appearance of scars with appropriate post-surgical treatments. The services offered at Visage to reduce scarring include manual lymphatic drainage and massage, deep body massage, and other scar management techniques, including gels, creams, serums, light and laser therapies, and nutrition.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage and Massage

Dr. DuPéré firmly believes in the benefits of lymphatic drainage massage following surgery, an approach not offered by all plastic surgeons. We offer our patients multiple sessions of this gentle, targeted massage therapy and also treat patients from other practices because Visage is 1 of the few clinics to provide this service.

Woman laying on her side

Developed in the 1930s in Germany, manual lymphatic drainage and massage is widely used throughout the world as a way of enhancing the lymphatic system’s removal of excess fluid and metabolic waste following surgery. This fluid often accumulates in scar tissue because the collagen that makes up scar tissue disrupts blood flow and lymphatic drainage. By increasing blood flow, lymphatic massage minimizes scar formation.

Woman getting massage

Our experienced and highly trained massage therapist usually performs the massage in a heated room to help ensure patients are relaxed and to increase drainage of lymphatic fluids. This type of massage uses light pressure and long, rhythmic strokes to increase lymphatic and blood flow to the affected areas. Patients remain comfortable during the massage because of its gentle nature, which is important because some post-surgery tenderness and pain likely remain at this point of the healing process.

Scar Management

Minimizing the appearance of scars through various scar management techniques can be very successful. The use of silicone gels, creams, serums, and skin brightening agents can be combined with laser and light therapies to either prevent the development of significant scars or to reduce the appearance of scars. We often treat women and men who have had cosmetic surgery at other practices that don’t offer the range of scar management services available at Visage.

Gels, Creams, and Serums

Topical scar management treatments each serve a specific purpose. Dr. DuPéré uses these medical-grade products to help incisions heal quickly without the development of noticeable scars. These treatments can also reduce the appearance of scars that have already developed.

These scar treatment products include:

Scar Recovery Gel by SkinMedica: This gel includes a material called Centelline™, made with an herbal extract and antioxidant that helps soften, smooth, and minimize the appearance of scars. Combined with silicone, which is well-known for its effectiveness in preventing raised scars, this gel is clinically proven to address multiple phases of scar formation and dramatically improve the healing process.

Crème Dermo-RL Corps by Biologique Recherche: This all-purpose cream moisturizes, improves the skin’s self-defense system by keeping skin hydrated, and promotes restorative properties. It contains various natural products, including hyaluronic acid, blackcurrant butter, raspberry, and rosemary to provide an instant feeling of comfort and protection.

Crème R-Stria by Biologique Recherche – R stands for RED: This soothing cream decreases inflammation and helps reconstruct dermal fibers. It also helps prevent the formation of atrophic, thin, and depressed scars. It alleviates fresh pink and red scars and prevents the formation of excessive scarring by decreasing inflammation.

Crème Réparatrice (repair cream) by Biologique Recherche: This pearly white cream firms and tones your skin and is an excellent post-operative treatment. It uses glycoproteins and natural amino acids to revitalize the skin and hop extract to moisturize. This product helps minimize signs of aging by improving the skin’s elasticity and restores its firmness for areas such as the neck, décolleté, stomach, inner arms, or thighs.

Serum Matriciel by Biologique Recherche: This serum is customized for use on the face or body to improve the skin’s elasticity and firmness. It protects, plumps, and moisturizes, which makes it ideal as a post-procedure treatment. The serum for the face uses more than 10 active ingredients to both help tighten the skin and restore volume to facial hollows.

Intralesional steroid injections: This is reserved for true, raised, thick keloid scars, a genetic condition affecting fewer than 1% of our patients.

Laser & Light Procedures

For some people, more aggressive anti-scarring treatments are needed. Lasers and light-based treatments can greatly reduce the appearance of scars when the procedures are performed by a skilled provider. Besides making a scar less noticeable, a laser treatment can:

  • Prevent the development of a raised scar after surgery
  • Reduce the pain, redness, and itchiness associated with scar development
  • Increase a patient’s range of motion if a scar limits movement

The treatments we use at Visage for scar management include:

BroadBand Light (BBL): BBL is similar to an intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment and can help quickly reduce the redness of a fresh scar. Dr. DuPéré may combine BBL treatments with other parts of our scar management protocol.

Profractional Laser: Applying laser energy to the epidermis and underlying dermis triggers the formation of new epidermis and collagen fibers. This helps to blend the line with the adjacent skin colour and texture. It is often performed along with BBL.

Halo™ Hybrid Laser: Halo is a breakthrough laser treatment that addresses both the surface epidermis and the deeper dermis layer of the skin. It helps blend a scar with the adjacent skin colour and also stimulates the deeper layer’s ability to produce a dermal matrix and prevent the indentation of a scar.