Do I Need Cortisone Shots Before Keloid Removal?

I have tremendous experience with keloids and have felt that pre-treatment cortisone injections are less useful than previously thought.  I would recommend a consultation to discuss options with your surgeon. 

Hi sp217 in Houston, TX,

Keloid scars a challenging to remove, as they may recur despite treatment at some point in the future. These types of scars are more common around the ears or chest, especially in darker skinned individuals. The mainstay of keloid scar therapy is both steroid injections and plastic surgery. Commonly, plastic surgeons will inject a keloid scar before, during, and after the plastic surgery. Other treatments for aggressive or extensive scarring include low-dose radiation, silicone, pressure, or skin grafts among other things. Only after a comprehensive evaluation can a plastic surgeon help determine appropriate treatment options for you. Best of luck.

Dr Chaboki

Many patients find that every 4-6 weeks cortisone injections by an experienced Dermatologist or plastic surgeon is sufficient to improve the keloid significantly, and that you may not even need the surgery in the end. In other cases, the keloid is shrunken by the cortisone shot to the point that the surgery is less invasive and/or a smaller scar is made.

Do this regime for 6 months or 6 injections than see a boarded plastic surgeon to discuss removal and the risks of return of the Keloid scar. Be careful Best of Luck. 

If it is a small keloid, than cortisone may reduce it. If it is a large keoid, then surgical removal and a course of cortisone treatment may help minimize the risk of return of the keloid.

Smaller keloids can respond and be significantly improved with cortisone injections, so that excision is not needed.

A larger or very noticeable keloid may need to be excised or removed first , followed by cortisone injections into the site to reduce the risk of having the keloid come back.