Patient Info
- Gender:
- Female
- Age:
- 74 years old
- Surgeon:
- Dr. Inessa Fishman
Description
This 74-year-old woman developed a small keloid after an ear piercing several decades ago. She had the keloid surgically removed twice at a different medical practice, and the keloid scar had grown back, and bothered the patient with its appearance and itchiness. Facial Plastic surgeon Dr. Fishman removed the keloid via a minor surgical procedure, followed by a series of steroid injections to prevent the keloid from returning; the patient also received a series of low-dose radiation treatments to the earlobe to decrease the chance of another recurrence. The patient is shown 4 months after treatment.
Keloids are scars that keep growing, for poorly understood reasons; there is likely a genetic component to forming keloids, which are seen more commonly in individuals of an African-American and Asian background. Keloid scars can be itchy or painful during periods of growth, and have a high chance of growing back after treatment. We offer combination therapies, like surgery and steroid injections and sometimes low-dose radiation therapy, in an attempt to prevent keloids from growing back.