Keloid Scars

Keloids are an overgrowth of scar tissue at the site of a healed skin injury or surgery. If you have ever seen a keloid, you will understand why some people find it necessary to have plastic surgery for keloid scars. Most surgeries result in a flat scar that may not look beautiful, but once the scar heals, it doesn’t cause any further problems or complications.

Some people develop hypertrophic scars, which are scars which thicken but remain in the borders of the original surgical scar. These usually resolve themselves within a year of surgery. But a keloid is different from a normal scar and a hypertrophic scar. Keloids are really lumps or masses which grow very large and actually spread beyond the boundaries of the original scar. Exposure to the sun during the first year of the keloid’s formation will cause the keloid to tan darker than the surrounding skin.

It is not unusual for keloids to reappear (sometimes larger than before) after they have been removed. Once you have had a keloid, you are apt to develop more. That means you should avoid further body piercing and any surgeries which are not life-threatening emergencies.

Scars from surgeries can produce keloids, as can body piercing, burns, or even little pimples, such as the type caused by acne. Keloids can get quite red in color and they can become both very itchy and/or painful. In fact, you can have an extremely large, ugly-looking and irritating mass that needs some form of treatment.

No one knows why some people develop keloids and others do not. Doctors do not understand exactly why keloids form in certain people or situations and not in others. Changes in the cellular signals that control growth and proliferation may be related to the process of keloid formation. All researchers know is that something triggers uncontrolled cell growth at the site but these changes have not yet been characterized scientifically. The good news is that keloids are never cancerous. Anyone can develop a keloid and people who have dark skin are more susceptible to the growths. There might even be a genetic connection as keloids often run in families.

While keloids occur in both men and women, until recent years, women were more apt to have keloids than men. That is most likely because body piercing is one of the biggest risk factors for keloids. Although most do not develop on the face itself, the growths are common on earlobes, the back, chest and shoulders.

It is important to prevent keloids whenever possible because keloid treatments do not always work. Plastic surgery for keloid scars is only one of the possible treatments. It is also not the most perfect treatment because you can run the risk of developing another keloid which is even larger than the first. Plastic surgery for keloid scars is rarely done by itself, most often being combined with radiation or steroid treatments.

Steroid injections are quite a safe treatment as well but the injection site usually leaves some type of mark. Cortisone is usually the steroid of choice in these cases. Very little enters the bloodstream, however, it can make blood vessels appear redder, which also alters the look of the site.

Other popular treatments used instead of plastic surgery for keloid include cryotherapy–the use of liquid nitrogen and laser therapy. Both can make the site of the incision or puncture flatter. Some people wear a silicone sheet over the keloid for long periods of time (weeks to months), and claim some success at mass reduction.

Interferons, or proteins produced by the human immune system to fight off such threats as viruses and bacteria, can help keloids to get smaller and smaller. Scientists have not discovered why they work or if the treatment will be permanent. If you have keloids, the best thing to do is to see your doctor for treatment. He or she will know the best route to take in your particular case. Because so many methods are available, you should be able to find one that works for you.