Surgery and perioperative intralesional corticosteroid injection for treating earlobe keloids: a korean experience.
BACKGROUND
The aesthetic implications of ear keloids, which affect people of all races, are serious and the treatment of earlobe keloids is known to be difficult. The high rate of recurrence following excision alone has led to investigating various types of adjuvant therapy, including intralesional corticosteroid injection.


OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the efficacy of excision combined with perioperative intralesional triamcinolone acetonide injection for treating earlobe keloids of Korean patients.


METHODS
From 1997 to 2006, eighteen keloids on the earlobes of fifteen Korean patients were treated. The patient age ranged from 15 to 32 years (mean age: 24 years). All the patients were female and the keloids occurred after ear piercing. Preoperative intralesional triamcinolone acetonide (TA) injection was administered twice at a 1-month interval. Postoperative intralesional TA injections were given every 1 month for several months, depending on the patient's clinical progress.


RESULTS
The follow-up period ranged from 4 to 42 months (mean: 18.5 months). After the surgery, TA intralesional injections were given 2 to 13 times (mean: 5.2 times). Of the treated keloids, eleven showed good results (61.1%) and three recurred (16.6%). No complications from the TA intralesional injection were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Among the various treatments for earlobe keloids, we suggest that excision with corticosteroid intralesional injection can be used as the first line therapy when considering its effect and economic advantage.
Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jin Young
JY
Jung
Mi Ryung
MR
Roh
Yeon Sook
YS
Kwon
Kee Yang
KY
Chung