KELOID

Symptoms

Keloids can develop in any place where skin trauma has occurred. They can be the result of pimples, insect bites, scratching, burns, or other skin injury. Keloid scars can develop after surgery. They are more common in some sites, such as the central chest (from a sternotomy), the back and shoulders (usually resulting from acne), and the ear lobes (from ear piercings).

Causes

Most skin injury types can contribute to keloid scarring. These include:

• acne scars
• burns
• chickenpox scars
• ear piercing
• scratches
• surgical incision sites
• vaccination sites

Treatment

The best treatment is prevention in patients with a known predisposition. This includes preventing unnecessary trauma or surgery (including ear piercing, elective mole removal), whenever possible. Any skin problems in predisposed individuals (e.g., acne, infections) should be treated as early as possible to minimize areas of inflammation.

Should keloids occur, the most effective treatment is superficial external beam radiotherapy (SRT), which can achieve cure rates of up to 90%.

Additionally, intralesional injection with a corticosteroid which help in reduction of inflammation and pruritis.

Cryotherapy or Cryosurgery is an application of extreme cold to treat keloids. This treatment method is easy to perform and has shown results with least chance of recurrence