For about 10 percent of the population, a skin injury – whether from a surgical incision, a piercing, or even a bug bite – heals differently. It can trigger a overproduction of collagen, resulting in a keloid. A keloid is a raised scar that often grows beyond the original site of the injury to the skin.
Keloids are more than thick scars. When the skin gets injured, the body produces collagen to help with healing. In the case of keloid disease, the body produces too much collagen. It results in a growth at the site of the injury. While a keloid can grow anywhere, they are most common the ears, back, chest, and shoulders. These areas often difficult to hide, which means that patients face a physical condition that is difficult to treat and nearly impossible to cover.
For many with keloid disease, the keloids start to grow during the most active years of their lives. Because effective treatment hasn’t always been accessible or widely known, patients often spend years managing the physical discomfort and the emotional weight of keloids on their own.
The symptoms are rarely just cosmetic. Keloids can be:
- Physically painful, with chronic itching, tenderness, or even a throbbing sensation at the location of the keloid
- Psychologically taxing, as keloid disease is quite visible – and can diminish self-confidence and body image
- Daily obstacles, impacting which clothes someone can wear, how well they sleep, and even their range of motion
Depending where the keloids grows, it can make it physically difficult for patients to do their job. For instance, if a keloid grows on a shoulder, neck, or joint, it can make any movement feel painful or tight. Active jobs that require a lot of lifting or reaching can be difficult. In other cases, depending on the location of the keloid growth, it can be impossible to wear the gear needed for work, like safety helmets, headsets, or even some uniforms.
For many patients, the most frustrating part of having keloid disease comes from finding effective, permanent treatment options. Traditional treatments often result in the keloid growing back, and sometimes, it will grow back even bigger than before.
Keloids Treatment Options
As medical dermatology has evolved over the years, so have the options for treating keloids. In looking at how they are typically treated, there are three common keloids treatment paths.
- Steroid Injections
Steroid injections are often the first course of treatment for keloids. These injections can help bring down the inflammation, which lives at the base of the keloid. It will help to improve the shape and texture of the keloid, but likely doesn’t shrink them to a point where they are nearly gone.
Results from steroid injections are quite variable. A recent study showed a 50-100% regression rate, and a recurrence rate of 33% and 50% after 1 and 5 years. Often times, steroid injections work best to soften and improve the condition of the keloid. However, other treatment options remove the keloid completely.
- Surgery
Surgery is often the next best option for treating keloids. However, because surgery adds more trauma to an area that has high inflammation, the success rates can vary. It is possible for keloids to come back after surgery. In some cases, they can grow back even bigger than they were in the first place, which can cause even more anguish for patients.
In fact, studies show a 70% reoccurrence rate for keloids when using surgical techniques alone for the removal of keloids.
- Surgery Combined with Superficial Radiotherapy (SRT)
The combination of surgery and Superficial Radiotherapy (SRT) treatment delivers the highest cure rate for keloids treatment. By following surgical remove of a keloid with SRT treatments, physicians can target the specific cells that are causing the body to trigger the excess production of collagen. This combination works together to deliver the highest cure rate.
Advanced Superficial Radiotherapy (SRT) Technology for Keloids Treatment
Adding Superficial Radiotherapy (SRT) technology as a follow-on treatment to surgery can provide immense benefits for patients. SRT works by delivering low-energy X-rays to a precise or targeted area of the skin. It is a non-invasive treatment option for non-melanoma skin cancers and keloids.
Because SRT technology delivers radiation to the site of the abnormal cells, it damages the DNA of those cells – without impacting the surrounding healthy skin cells. In the case of keloids, the SRT treatment helps to reduce the inflammation at the site of skin injury. This is the inflammation that leads the body to trigger excess collagen production in order to heal the injury. As a result, the keloid grows at the location of the scar or skin injury.
For patients to experience the benefits of SRT after surgery, many physicians recommend following a strict protocol. SRT treatments are typically administered on the days immediately following surgery. However, because the SRT treatments take place right in the dermatologist’s office, they are quick.
Following a strict protocol of SRT treatments immediately following the surgical removal of the keloid helps to increase cure rates, meaning that the keloid is less likely to grow back at the location from where it was removed on the body.
In recent medical studies, SRT technology has been demonstrated to achieve cure rates as high as 90% for keloids patients when combined with surgery.
The Future of Keloids Treatment
While there’s still room for a better understanding of why some people get keloids, advances in treatment options offer patients more options to treat keloid disease. SRT technology provides a painless and non-invasive option to help patients after surgical removal of their keloids to significantly reduce the chance of recurrence.
For many patients, SRT as a treatment option has finally given them relief from the disease. From removing keloids from the ears to the chest and back, finally having an option to treat keloids with a high cure rate helps them get their quality of life back.
Learn more about Sensus Healthcare’s SRT technology for keloids treatment.
