Surgery to remove keloid scars | Keloid Plastic Surgery Center (2023)

FAQs

Can a plastic surgeon fix a keloid scar? ›

However, when combined with post-operative radiation therapy, surgical treatment of keloid scars can be very effective. Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr. Elliot Hirsch believes in an individualized approach to treating keloid scars and will work with you to develop a treatment plan that meets your individual needs.

Steroid application and injection

Steroids are used to flatten and reduce the activity of hypertrophic and keloid scars. Steroids can be injected into the scar tissue in clinic, can be used at the time of surgery, or can be used topically with laser modalities.

The cost of keloid removal ranges from $75 to upward of $2,000 depending on the type and duration of treatment. Keloid removal is considered a cosmetic procedure, therefore is not usually covered by health insurance. As a rule of thumb, larger, more severe keloids will cost more to remove.

Cryosurgery works best on small keloids. Because using a combination of treatments often works best for treating keloids, cryotherapy may be used after keloid surgery. Cryosurgery is usually performed about two weeks after you have your stitches removed.

People who say they are prone to keloids are right to be cautious when it comes to cosmetic surgery. However, having keloids doesn't automatically mean you have to rule it out. There are surgical techniques and methods of scar care that can go a long way toward minimizing scars.

In some instances, a surgeon may recommend removing a large hypertrophic scar or keloid. Keloids that far exceed the margins of the original wound, for example, require removal to allow surgeons to reconstruct the surrounding skin and tissue and restore as much of the underlying structure as possible.

Even after successful flattening or removal, keloids can grow back, sometimes bigger than before. Or you may develop new ones.

The procedure takes about 15 minutes, and often no anesthesia is required.

Surgery Details

Keloid removal is generally a straightforward 1 hour procedure that is performed under local anesthesia in our office. After numbing the entire area, our doctors will excise the abnormal scar, free up the skin on each side, and sew the sides together.

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 the color of the person's skin or red to dark brown in color.

What happens if you cut off a keloid? ›

1 – Simply Removing Keloids May Lead to Larger Keloids

Because keloids are actually a type of hyper-replicating scar tissue, surgical removal needs to be performed very precisely in order to avoid creating a bigger problem.

Keloids tend to shrink and become flatter over time, even without treatment. Initially, your doctor will probably recommend less-invasive treatments, such as silicone pads, pressure dressings, or injections, especially if the keloid scar is a fairly new one.

Is keloid scar removal painful? No, keloid scar removal is usually performed after an anesthetic has been injected to make the area numb. The surgical site may be a little tender for a day or two after the procedure, but this is usually easily controlled with over-the-counter medications.

A variety of management options are available for keloids. Surgical excision of keloids is rarely performed. It has poor results, with recurrence rates between 40-100%. Surgical excision is thought to stimulate collagen synthesis – which results in the regrowth of a larger keloid.

Keloids can be treated, so it is not a condition you have to continue living with. The treatment involves superficial radiation and is incredibly effective in removing keloid scars. Keloid removal with the SRT-100TM has a success rate that is over 90%.

Most health insurance plans will not cover scar revision surgery, related complications or another surgery to revise the appearance of your scar.

Conclusion: Keloids never completely disappear to leave skin with normal texture, however they can resolve (flatten and soften) so they no longer burden patients in approximately one third of cases. Scars resolving spontaneously do so early in the disease. Those that don't may resolve after many years of treatment.

Scar revision is plastic surgery performed to improve the condition or appearance of a scar anywhere on your body. The different types of scars include: Discoloration or surface irregularities and other more subtle scars can be cosmetically improved by surgery or other treatments recommended by your plastic surgeon.

Conclusion: These preliminary results are highly encouraging since all patients showed improvement. Shaving associated with cryosurgery appears to us to be a useful treatment for large keloids scars, particularly after otoplastic surgery.

Shiny, hairless, lumpy, raised skin. Varied size, depending on the size of the original injury and when the keloid stops growing. Varied texture, from soft to firm and rubbery. Reddish, brown or purplish, depending on your skin color.

What percentage of keloid scars recur after surgical excision? ›

For keloid scars treated with surgery alone, the rate of recurrence ranged from 50% to 80% while adding radiation therapy following surgery using a BED value >30 Gy reduced the recurrence rate to <10%. The best outcomes were achieved with a BED value of 30 Gy administered within 2 days of surgery [21].

Other options include: freezing early keloid scars with liquid nitrogen to stop them growing. laser treatment to reduce redness (but this will not make the scar any smaller) surgery, sometimes followed by radiotherapy, to remove the scar (although it can grow back and may be larger than before)

You can, however, expect to pay around $500 for a smaller and less noticeable scar. If you need a skin graft for a bigger and more complex scar, you may pay as much as $4,000. This hefty price tag typically includes a skin graft.

Keloids and hypertrophic scars are caused by cutaneous injury and irritation, including trauma, insect bite, burn, surgery, vaccination, skin piercing, acne, folliculitis, chicken pox, and herpes zoster infection.

When a keloid first appears, it's often red, pink, or slightly darker than your natural skin tone. As it grows, it may darken. Some become lighter in the center and darker at the edges.

No, keloids do not turn into cancer.

Excision of a keloid may stimulate additional collagen synthesis, prompting quick recurrence as a possible larger keloid than the initial one. For this reason, intramarginal surgical (core) excision of keloid tissue has been recommended to prevent stimulation of additional collagen synthesis.

The most common treatment for keloids is injecting corticosteroids directly into the scar. The tissue doesn't absorb the drug well enough through the skin to be effective. Hence, injections are more effective than topical applications.

After the wound heals, apply silicone gel sheets or silicone gel. You can buy both of these products without a prescription. They can help prevent a keloid. To get the best results, you apply a new sheet or gel to the area every day.

How serious is a keloid? ›

Keloids can be painful or itchy but aren't usually dangerous to a person's health. However, depending on where they are located, they can be a cosmetic concern. Fortunately, there are many treatment options to help remove keloids.

People with darker skin, such as black, Hispanic, and Asian people, are 15 to 20 times more likely to get keloids. But, some people with lighter skin also get them. Keloids are more common in people younger than 30 years, in pregnant women, and in teenagers going through puberty.

Typically, if the reason for your keloid removal is simply for cosmetic reasons, your insurance won't cover treatments. On the other hand, if it's medically necessary, they may cover all or portions of the treatment.

Swelling and bruising will begin to subside 2 or 3 weeks after surgery. Contour finalizes in several weeks to several months. Avoid smoking at all during the first 10 days after surgery.

The remnants of keloids from prior surgery may regrow over time.

Larger keloids can be flattened by pulsed-dye laser sessions. This method has also been useful in easing itchiness and causing keloids to fade. Pulsed-dye laser therapy is delivered over several sessions with 4 to 8 weeks between sessions. Your doctor might recommend combining laser therapy with cortisone injections.

Once you have them, keloids are notoriously difficult to eliminate and have a very high chance of re-growing once they are surgically cut out. This is because the body is likely to respond in the same exaggerated way to this surgery as it did to the initial injury.

The Vbeam Perfecta Laser is a pulsed dye laser that targets the vascular component of keloids and other thick scars leading to shrinkage of scars, improvement in tone and texture, as well as flattening and dramatic improvement in redness.

Does laser keloid removal hurt? ›

While laser skin treatments do work incredibly quickly, they can be slightly irritating during the treatment itself. The pain is minimal and has been compared by patients to 'a rubber band snapping against your skin. ' After a few minutes, your skin becomes used to the pain and you don't feel it anymore.