Keloids, Do They Disappear over Time?

Keloids can occur with trauma to the skin such as a surgical incision.  Some individuals are more prone to developing keloids than others and there's really not a way to predict who will keloid.  If you have a past history of keloids, you should communicate this to your surgeon.  Oftentimes, if a keloid is observed early on, your surgeon can inject a steroid into the keloid that will help to improve the appearance of the area.  

Keloids and hypertrophic scars are not very common after facial surgery, even if you have experienced them in other body areas

Keloids have a greater tendency to develop in people of color and area of the central body(chest, shoulders,back,etc.)  They can develop on the ears after piercings. I would have a plastic surgeon examine your scars because some patients confuse keloids with a widened scar.

Dr. ES

They do flatten out and become less red. Facelift scars rarely keloid. When it is time for your facelift the surgeon will be able to tell you with a greater degree of certainty. In 35 years of facelifting I have never had a keloid on a facelift patient.

Without pictures and without examining you, it is hard to give specific advice.  Additionally, patients sometimes think that they have keloids when they actually have hypertrophic scars or some other healing issue.  If you do have true keloids, there is a chance that you will get them again.  There are not great treatments for keloids there are some methods such as steroids and radiation which may help.  Good luck.

Keloids cannot necessarily be predicted. The earlobes are a very common place but not everyone who gets a keloid from a piercing in one ear will necessarily get one in the opposite ear lobule. The same goes for other parts of the body. Keloids have a tendency to grow whereas hypertrophic scars only grow for up to two years and then subside thereafter.

Certain areas on the body and face are more prone to keloid formation than others.  Regarding facelift, the areas where incisions are typically made tend to heal very well and uneventfully.  Occasionally, a thickened scar may develop from the incision behind the ear.  When identified early in its formation, a keloid may be treated conservatively with steroid injections in the office as well as silicone gel and massage.  It is true darker skinned individuals have a higher risk of keloid formation, but preventative injection of steroid is a strategy to minimize this risk.  

Are the scars truly keloid or hypertrophic?  More than likely they are hypertrophic. SOmetimes these can be revised.

Keloids are an overgrowth that occurs from over-healing and do not disappear over time. They are more common in dark-skinned individuals and in certain areas of the body. Just because you have a keloid on your shoulder does not necessarily mean you will get one from a facelift. We have seen very limited keloids in dark-skinned individuals after a facelift, because at the time of the surgery we place cortisone injections in the incision areas. Close monitoring and follow-up by both the patient and the surgeon to immediately address keloids if they should start to occur is also important.

I will directly answer your questions. No keloids do not disappear over time. they can flatten out but are more than likely to continue to grow by definition: A keloid (also known as a "keloidal scar"[1]:1499) is a type of scar, which depending on its maturity, is composed of mainly either type III (early) or type I (late) collagen. It is a result of an overgrowth of granulation tissue (collagen type 3) at the site of a healed skin injury which is then slowly replaced by collagen type 1. Keloids are firm, rubbery lesions or shiny, fibrous nodules, and can vary from pink to flesh-coloured or red to dark brown in colour. A keloid scar is benign, non-contagious, and sometimes accompanied by severe itchiness and pain[2], and changes in texture. In severe cases, it can affect movement of skin.Keloids should not be confused with hypertrophic scars, which are raised scars that do not grow beyond the boundaries of the original wound.

The chances are yes every time you have surgery you are "prone" for keloid healing. Even in the facelift and yes I have seen a patient with keloids of the face from incision in front of the ear. 

 

Hope this helps. Regards