Keloid is a result of an overgrowth of granulation tissue at the site of a healed skin.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. A keloid scar is benign and not contagious, and usually accompanied by severe itchiness, pain, and changes in texture.
A hypertrophic scar is a cutaneous condition characterized by deposits of excessive amounts of collagen which gives rise to a raised scar, but not to the degree observed with keloids. Like keloids, they form most often at the sites of pimples, body piercings, cuts and burns. They generally develop after thermal or traumatic injury that involves the deep layers of the dermis.
Various treatment modalities are available. Intralesional corticosteroids, surgical excision in case of small lesions, cryotherapy, ablative laser therapy are the widely used options. Radiation therapy can also help in cases of recalcitrant keloids.Treatment has to be individualized depending upon the distribution, size, thickness, and consistency of the lesions and association of inflammation. A combination approach to therapy seems to be the best option.
