Keloids

Keloids are scars that grow beyond the original borders of the wound. Like hypertrophic scars they are raised, but they are often dark in color and hard to the touch. Without treatment, they will often continue to grow. Keloid scars can make you self-conscious, but you don’t have to live with them. Treatment can diminish the appearance of keloids or sometimes get rid of them altogether.

Keloid scars are the result of an overactive healing response. To bridge the gap caused by skin damage, your body creates granular tissues, which are made primarily of collagen, across the injury site. Sometimes, the fibroblasts that lay down this bed of collagen don’t get the message to turn off and continue creating the granular fibers, actually overlaying your natural skin with them.
The result is a scar that continues to grow outward, often in all directions, expanding beyond the original site of the wound.

Keloid Treatment

Keloid treatment can take several courses. When keloids are small, cryotherapy can be used to freeze keloids and stop their growth.Steroid injections are often used to stop the growth of keloids. The steroids can help stimulate the fibroblasts to stop their work, and encourage your body to remodel the scar tissue into normal skin. This will diminish and change the appearance of keloids, but rarely eliminates them entirely.Laser keloid treatment often gives the best results. Lasers can be used to precisely target the keloid tissue, diminishing their appearance greatly.