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What is the Best Keloid Treatment?

i am an african american, male, 39 yrs old that wants to get rid of a keloid that appears on my ear lobe. my family dr said i need steroid injections. but is that the safest keloid treatment? what other options are there?

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Treatment for Keloids is Difficult

As others have noted, effective treatment of keloids can be very difficult. The reason for this is that keloids are an abnormal response to injury, and area of scar tissue that grows beyond its natural boundaries. On examination of a piece of Keloid tissue under a microscope, it looks substantially different than the average scar. The initial phase of treatment is to slow the inflammation, ergo the use of several spaced injections. The next option is to excise the... more

Stephen Prendiville, MD

Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon

Keloid Treatments

Keloids can be very resistant to treatment. Treatment options can involve any of the following (and also involve combinations of the therapies listed below). 1. Steroid treatment - this usually requires multiple treatments. If the keloid is large enough this can leave excess skin after successful treatment. Steroid treatment can cause tissue atrophy and for african american skin or other darker skin types can also cause hypopigmentation. 2. Excision - While the mechanism for... more

Steven H. Williams, MD

San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Keloids: Diagnosis is the key!

How a scar looks is dependent on a number of different things: Genetics Type of injury: surgical vs. traumatic Type of repair: was the cut sutured or left to heal on its own. Treating keloid scars is often very frustrating for a patient as there is a large chance of recurrence. The main determinant of scar treatment is the diagnosis. I have seen countless patients in my Santa Monica plastic surgery office who have been told that they have keloid scars when in fact they have a more... more

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Keloid for earlobes - best treatment options

Keloids are notoriously difficult to treat. The most successful treatments are combination. Depending on the size of the keloid, surgery may be first part. Then adding steroid injections and compression to the regimen will further reduce the recurrence rate. To further minimize the chance of the keloid coming back, you may even consider radiation therapy. Good luck.

Young R. Cho, MD, PhD

Houston Plastic Surgeon

Keloids need expert care

It is important to work with a physician who has significant experience with Keloids - as in this case experience matters greatly. There are many options for treating keloids including pressure, injections of cortisone, and surgery. When considering surgery, we have found the use of Radio-frequency surgery to be far superior than the conventional scalpel. This allows meticulous dissection of the scar tissue without any crush (from a blade) or thermal damage. more

Jeffrey Ellis, MD

Long Island Dermatologic Surgeon

There are several treatments for keloids

Keloids are thick scars that form after injury or trauma, but can also occur on their own. They can happen anywhere on the body but are common on the earlobes and trunk (especially the chest and upper back). Any form of injury to the skin, including surgery, ear/body piercing, accidental injury, or a tattoo can cause a keloid. You should consult a board-certified dermatologist to discuss the treatment options. Steroid injections are often helpful for small keloids or to prevent... more

Colby Evans, MD

Austin Dermatologic Surgeon

Keloids respond to steroids and radiotherapy

For indiviuals like yourself prone to keloid formation, having the keloid excised and injected postoperatively may prevent recurrence of the keloid. If the keloid does recurr, conmsult a radiotherapist in your are that does this superficial radiotherapy- it can reduce recurrence by more than 80%.

Debra Irizarry, MD

Crestone Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Keloid treatments

Often keloid treatments of the ears require a multi modality approach with the following therapies: Surgical excision- In some cases the keloid must be excised because other therapies are not effective. Surgery alone is rarely effective in managing keloids Kenalog injections- Kenalog injections decrease the collagen response and help improve the chances of keloids from returning. Pressure clip earrings- Pressure on the ears is thought to decrease the collagen... more

Anil R. Shah, MD

Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon

True keloids are hard to improve

Hopefully you do not have a "true Keloid," but rather a hypertrophic scar. You need to be evaluated to discern the difference. Keloids tend to recur and spread widely out of the wound from which they were formed. Radiation therapy is a seemingly drastic option after surgery for Keloid scars that seems to work. Best Regards.

John P. Di Saia, MD

Orange Plastic Surgeon

Keloid treatments

Keloids are actual tumors of scar tissue. They are an abnormal response to injury and occur often after minor trauma (earlobe piercing, shaving of the beard). The defining characteristics are the growth of the scar outside of the area of injury. The scar is composed of massive amount of collagen when looked at under the slide. In theory, it is an abnormal inflammatory response which may be the underlying cause. No singular treatment works best and often a combined approach is necessary. Here... more

David Bogue, MD

Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon

Best treatments for ear keloid are steroid injections and surgery

The best treatment options for ear keloids are steroid injections and surgical revision. There is always a risk with surgical removal that the keloid can return, but using steroid injections can limit that possibility.

Harold J. Kaplan, MD

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

Keloids Are Difficult

Keloids are unfortunately one of the most difficult conditions to treat successfully. There has been no treatment shown to be 100% effective at treating keloids. There are many options though. Be ware that even with optimal treatment, recurrence occurs and can occur even several years after treatment. 1) Steroid injections: With smaller keloids, this can completely resolve the keloid. With larger keloids, steroids are used to soften the keloid, decrease the amount to be removed, prepare the... more

D.J. Verret, MD

Dallas Facial Plastic Surgeon

Keloid Treatment

To address your question, keloid scars form following trauma to the skin, therefore you might find it ironic that the most effective treatment of keloids has been surgical excision coupled with proper wound closure and radiation therapy. The steroid used for intralesional injection is Kenalog. Although I often administer Kenalog injections during time of wound repair or post keloid excision, in my experience Kenalog injections alone are a more favorable treatment for hypertrophic scars... more

Oleh Slupchynskyj, MD

New York Facial Plastic Surgeon

Surgery and steroid injection to treat earlobe keloid

The best treatment for most keloids of the earlobes involves surgical excision to remove the involved tissue. This most commonly is combined with immediate steroid injection which can be repeated on a monthly basis as needed. These do have a high rate of recurrence so I recommend that you be followed on a monthly basis at least initially by your plastic surgeon and then potentially at longer intervals for around one and a half years. For extremely aggressive keloids that recur despite... more

Steven Turkeltaub, MD

Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Pressure earing for keloids of the earlobe

If you have a true keloid of the earlobe you might want to try a pressure earing. That will often flatten it out a lot. You might want to combine that with some other treatements like steroid injection if the pressure does not work, but pressure earings are a good alternative in some cases. Dr. Korman