Providing The Best "Kare" For My Keloid Scars - Santa Monica, CA

For many years my keloids have caused me a great deal of physical and emotional pain. I felt embarrassed, self-conscious, insecure, and unattractive as a result of my scars. There have been times where I feared that there was nothing that could be done to treat this problem. After several rounds of treatments with multiple specialists, the failed attempts at repairing my keloids left me feeling even more depressed and defeated.

As a last stitch effort, I decided to Google "best keloid specialist" and I came across Dr. Karamanoukian’s video from the TV show "The Doctors". After watching that video I told myself that I would make one last attempt to treat my scars. After meeting Dr. Karamanoukian at his Kare Plastic Surgery Center in Santa Monica, I left feeling a sense of optimism and hope that maybe something could be done to fix my problem.

I had 2 keloids removed by Dr. Karamanoukian (back, mons pubis) earlier this year. He was very detailed in explaining to me how he would perform the surgeries and when and where I would feel some slight tugging and pain, which helped put me at ease. Before proceeding, he made sure I was aware of the fact that there was a strong possibility that the keloid may come back and ongoing treatment would be needed. The mons pubis keloid was removed first. The scar began to heal well but began to keloid a bit in the following weeks. Despite this, the keloid is vastly smaller, flatter and less painful than before the removal. To further combat the scar Dr. Karamanoukian administered injections directly into the scar once a week and suggested I undergo laser hair removal to prevent the development of ingrown hair, which I did.

This was followed by the removal of the scar on my back which was more difficult to address. Since the keloid was so large (about 3 inches in diameter) and the skin so taut in the area, the possibility of the stiches tearing was a big concern. After a successful surgery, I spent the following 2-3 weeks trying to be as immobile as possible to help prevent a tear. This area took far longer to heal. Within the first few weeks I was very optimistic about the outcome. With only a very small line of sutures I thought we had finally succeeded. Unfortunatly the stitches started to tear before fully healing and I was left with a dime-sized open wound as a result. A bit frustrated I remember that Dr. Karamanoukian did advise that this was a strong possibility. For the past 4 months or so I have been receiving weekly injections.

I realize that my scars will probably never completely go away and this may be a lifelong battle, but I will always appreciate Dr. Karamanoukian's efforts and the empathy he shared with me. All things considered I am happy that my keloids are now far less pronounced and painful than before the removal. Despite some of the inevitable setbacks I am very pleased with Dr. Karamanoukian’s work and highly recommend him to anyone in need of keloid scar treatment.