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If you have suffered a skin injury or cut, you will probably develop a scar. Scars can be separated into three groups: atrophic or sunken scars, hypertrophic or raised scars, and keloid scars. Out of all these groups, the most difficult to treat are keloids and here's why.

Keloid scars can develop from any type of wound, be it a cut, burn, or inflammatory reaction such as acne. As they develop, they begin to grow past the edges of the original site of damage and may sometimes keep growing for several years.

This is why keloid scars are difficult to eliminate. Keloid removal can be achieved through surgical excision, however, some people experience a high recurrence rate which makes surgery less than successful.

Looking for an Effective Keloid Treatment Plan

Keloid scar removal not only depends on surgery, but also on complementary procedures that help minimize the recurrence rate. The most common procedures will include steroid injections and compression therapy. The combination of surgery, injections and compression are what make scar removal successful.

Steroid injections can be used before and after surgery to help flatten the scar. The doctor may also decide to inject steroids directly into the site of the scar during the excision process. This is done because there have been studies that show that this will help reduce the rate of recurrence.

Compression therapy has also been used to treat keloid scars for a long time. Compression devices are custom made and should be worn for 24 hours a day to be the most effective. As soon as the wound heals, the doctor will indicate what type of compression garment or bandage you should use.

Compression garments or bandages are usually worn anywhere from 6 months to a year or two. No one knows how this works, but there is speculation that the restriction of oxygen can help reduce the biological processes that leads to the development of keloids.

Other Keloid Treatment Options

The procedures mentioned previously are only a couple of the options you can use to treat keloids.

For example, a therapy that uses a pulsed-dye laser can be effective in flattening out keloids and helping reduce the redness they present. You'll need to undergo several sessions before seeing drastic results, but that shouldn't be much of a problem because this is a painless procedure.

Another alternative is the use of silicone sheets to help reduce the appearance of keloids and other types of scars. They work much like compression devices, but are only worn a couple of hours every day.

Smaller keloids are usually treated using cryotherapy. The keloid is frozen using liquid nitrogen which helps flatten the scar although it also causes a slight darkened appearance at the site of injury.