FACIAL KELOIDS - A 15-YEAR EXPERIENCE

Background: Keloids are relatively common sequelae of trauma to the sk in of the head and neck. A wide variety of treatment approaches develo ped over the years document the difficulty in eradicating these lesion s. Objective: To review the senior author's (W.H.L) 15-year experience in treating keloids both medically and surgically. Design: A retrospe ctive analysis of 202 patients with histologically documented keloids of the head and neck with at least a 2-year follow-up. Results: A comb ination of precise surgical excision, postoperative steroid infiltrati on, silicone sheeting, and conservative auricular radiotherapy has res ulted in an acceptable 15% recurrence rate overall. Conclusions: The t reatment of facial keloids remains a challenge for the facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Precise surgical techniques with adjuvant therapies have resulted in a relatively low recurrence rate.