Radiation therapy - This therapy is controversial because radiation increases the risk of cancer.It can cause a side effect of lightening the skin color, which limits this treatment's usefulness. Cryosurgery - This freezing treatment with liquid nitrogen is repeated every 20 to 30 days.Zimmer splints that resemble earrings are available. For keloids that form at the site of an ear piercing, a clip known as a "Zimmer splint" usually reduces keloid size by at least 50% after one year of compression. Such compression can cause a keloid to become smaller. Compression - This involves using a bandage or tape to apply continuous pressure 24 hours a day for a period of six to 12 months.This treatment can often reduce keloid size and irritation, but injections are uncomfortable. Corticosteroid injections - Injections into keloids with triamcinolone acetonide or another corticosteroid medicine typically are repeated at intervals of four to six weeks.Dressings - Moist wound coverings made of silicone gel sheets have been shown in studies to sometimes reduce the size of keloids over time.Keloids are less likely to return if surgical removal is combined with other treatments. Keloids return in more than 45% of people when they are removed surgically. Removal with conventional surgery - This unreliable technique requires great care, and keloids that return after being removed may be larger than the original.If you decide to pursue treatment for a keloid scar, you will have the best results if you start treatment soon after the keloid appears. There is no single treatment for keloids, and most treatments do not give completely satisfying results. Examples of techniques that might be used to minimize keloid formation include covering the healing wound with hypoallergenic paper tape for several weeks after surgery, covering the wound with small sheets made of a silicone gel after the surgery, or using corticosteroid injections or radiation treatments at the site of the surgical wound at the beginning of the healing period. When surgery is necessary in such people, doctors can take special precautions to minimize the formation of keloids at the site of the incision. People who are prone to keloids should avoid cosmetic surgery. It is common for keloids that have been removed or treated to return. Once a keloid develops, it is permanent unless removed or treated successfully. They eventually stop growing but do not disappear on their own. Keloids may continue to grow slowly for weeks, months or years. In rare cases, the doctor may remove a small piece of the skin to examine under a microscope. DiagnosisĪ doctor diagnoses a keloid on the basis of its appearance and a history of tissue injury, such as surgery, acne or body piercing. A large keloid in the skin over a joint may interfere with joint function. They can be doughy or firm and rubbery to the touch, and they often feel itchy, tender or uncomfortable. They are shiny, smooth and rounded skin elevations that may be pink, purple, or brown. Keloids usually appear in areas of previous trauma but may extend beyond the injured area. Keloids may form over the breastbone in people who have had open heart surgery. They generally occur between 10 and 30 years of age and affect both sexes equally, although they may be more common among young women with pierced ears. When a keloid is associated with a skin incision or injury, the keloid scar tissue continues to grow for a time after the original wound has closed, becoming larger and more visible until it reaches a final size. They are seen most commonly on the shoulders, upper back and chest, but they can occur anywhere. Keloids are more common in African-Americans. Some people are prone to keloid formation and may develop them in several places. Keloids differ from normal mature scars in composition and size. Less commonly, keloids may form in places where the skin has not had a visible injury. They occur where trauma, surgery, blisters, vaccinations, acne or body piercing have injured the skin. Keloids are raised overgrowths of scar tissue that occur at the site of a skin injury.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |