What Are the Best Treatments for Keloid Scars After Breast Reduction?

asked 1 year ago by Rachel in NY in Buffalo, NY
Latest answer by Vivek Bansal, MD
Question viewed 1,597 times
Tags: 2 years post-op, keloid scar, options

I had a breast reduction about 2.5 years ago, when I was 17 years old. I unfortunately developed keloid scarring. I was wondering what the best way is to go about treating them. I've had some laser treatments and that definitely helped but they were very painful. I am considering kenalog injections and then possibly, when they have flattened, some cosmetic tattooing. Are these good ideas?

7 answers to What Are the Best Treatments for Keloid Scars After Breast Reduction?

Scar Removal

Silicone tape, steroids injections, then scar revision. See a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon for this. Thank you for your question and good luck with everything.

Vivek Bansal, MD
Danville Plastic Surgeon

Hypertrophic breast reduction scars

Your scars, thankfully, are hypertrophic and not keloidal. They can be treated first by silicone sheeting or, if unsuccessful, by kenalog injection. If both these conservative methods do not alleviate the scarring, the scars could be excised and the area resutured in a scar revision procedure. I recommend excising a small area and then observing for improvement. If successful, you can continue with outpatient excision with meticulous closure. By closing breast reductions using careful... more

Robert L. Kraft, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Hypertrophic scars following breast reduction in a 17 year old

As you have read from the other plastic surgeon respondents, the scars that you have are hypertrophic ones rather than keloids. This is relatively good news as hypertrophic scars are more easily treated as compared to keloids which can be quite difficult to eradicate. At your age, hypertrophic scars are not uncommon with breast reduction surgery. Given you photos and history, my recommendation would be to surgically remove the thicker and wider areas, meticulously repair the wounds with... more

Steven Turkeltaub, MD
Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon

Hypertrophic Scars Following Breast Reduction

You have hypertrophic breast scars, not keloid scars. These do seem to occur more commonly in younger patients, and the alignment of the skin edges, wound tension, and suture material used may also play a role. It appears that some areas have improved after your laser treatments and are now flatter, but remain widened. Additional laser treatments and steroid injections may help to soften and flatten the residual areas of hypertrophy. You will be left with wide scars following these... more

Kenneth Dembny, II, MD
Milwaukee Plastic Surgeon

Options for hypertrophic scars after breast reduction

Hopefully better options will be available in the future, but you have had the standard treatments with laser and steroid injection. Check out clinicaltrials.gov and search hypertrphic breast scars.

Richard Baxter, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Best Treatments for Keloid Ssars After Breast Reduction?

Good News and Bad News. You do NOT have Keloid scar (raised scars which overflow the margins of the original injury or surgical incision). These are MUCH harder to treat successfully. Instead, you have a mix of widened (? result of Kenalog shots) and Hypertrophic (exaggerated, speed bump like) scars. Many of these can be made to look better by surgical excision, revision and meticulous closure with dissolving stitches in multiple layers minimizing tension at the skin surface.... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Keloid and Hypertrophic Scar treatment

Your scars are more accurately termed hypertrophic scars rather than keloids, although I doubt that distinction brings you any comfort! Many young breast reduction patients develop scars such as these. If you did not use silicone dressings during the healing process, you could consider excising the scar in the inframammary fold and keeping silicone on it during the healing process. If that worked well, you could try the same on the rest of your incisions... more

Michael Kreidstein, MD
Toronto Plastic Surgeon

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