Combination Therapy of Earlobe Keloids

Keloids are proliferative growths of dermal collagen which extends beyond the original wound.Many modalities are available for treatment of keloids but there is no desirable modality to prevent the recurrence of keloidsuntil now. The authors suggest that the combination therapy of surgical excision, steroid injection and compression therapy isan effective method for prevention of recurrence. Materials and Method：Eleven patients who underwent surgical excisionfor earlobe keloids in the period from June of 2003 to July of 2005 were selected for clinical analysis. We injected steroid at thesurgical margin after excision and compressed it by aluminum splint after skin closure. Results：There were four men andseven women, ranging in age from 13 to 60 years (mean age, 29.2 years). The causes of keloids were earring in seven cases,trauma in two cases and middle ear surgery in two case. The keloids appeared at 1 to 17 years (mean, 3.9 years) after earring,trauma or middle ear surgery, and follow-up period ranged from 3 to 28 months (mean, 9.3 month). The sizes of keloids variedfrom 0.60.30.2 cm to 3.42.31.3 cm. Only one out of the 11 cases recurred and the remaining 10 cases had good resultswithout recurrence. Conclusion：We believe that the combination therapy of surgical excision, steroid injection and compressionby aluminum splint is a very effective therapy for treatment of earlobe keloids.