Keloid treatment requires surgery removal or debulking and steroid injections and pressure
garments with weekly office visits over a 2 to 3 month period or radiation. Keloids are large sometimes dumbell shaped scars that grow out of the confines
of the original wound. They are most common in Afro Americans but occasionally are found in Hispanics and Asians. If measures are not take to prevent recurrence keloid scars will return after surgical removal. These recurrent keloids tend to be larger and harder to treat. In some cases radiation is used to prevent recurrence especially if the patient cannot return for weekly office visits or the body area involved is not amenable to the application of pressure by a garment, for example keloids on the chest.
Although the exact
skin condition prior to keloid formation cannot be reached vast improvement
is possible.
This 27 year old 5' 109 lb patient had a keloid on the central upper chest. This type of keloid cannot be completely removed at/by surgery. If the surgeon attempts to do so he/she will be unable to close the resulting wound and such open wounds increase the risk of recurrent keloids. In this case the keloid was debulked leaving some of the surface skin so that the resulting wound could be sutured closed. 4 radiation treatments were then applied to the area over the course of 1 week beginning later on the day of surgery. This was followed by the application of medicated tape to the area for 8 months to result in a flat soft scar. The after photo was taken 1 year after the surgical debulking. Most recurrences if they happen will do so 1 to 3 months after surgery. This treatment protocol was imperative to prevent recurrence of the keloid.
Keloid surgery
can enhance your appearance and your self confidence. Realistic expectations
are important to be happy with any surgery. As each patient is an individual,
different results can be expected in each patient.
