12 replies to this topic

[Mr Guru]

Hi, I'm new here, so I had these hypertrophic or keloid scars from chest, shoulder and back acne for 2,5 years. They are ruining my life I'm 16 years old I can't go to the beach no more I can't even remember when was the last time that I was without without shirt in public... This year I decided to go to dermatologist well she said that there is no way to get rid of them, I'm currently treated with steroid injections triamcinolone acetonide (Kenalog) and IPL. I see a bit of improvement but I really want them to be gone! some kind of surgery? please tell me no matter how expensive it is I just really want to know if there is some way to get rid of them.

Thanks, sorry for my bad english  

[echo91]

I have the same problem pretty much, scars appear on chest, back and the worst shoulders.

 

You could try Silicone Scar Sheets, apparently they help. If you currently have active acne they may make it worse. They can work on old and new scars.

 

Other treatments such as bio-oil should help with the redness and improve the appearance.

 

There's also skin peels, such as salicylic acid and lactic acid, they can also help with active acne.

 

All these treatments require time, it could take months before noticing results.

 

Good luck, hope you find a solution that works for you.

[Helton]

From what I've learned, those scars need to be injected with steroid to flatten them first, but the color will still be red. Then you can get laser treatment to remove the discoloration.

[Mr Guru]

From what I've learned, those scars need to be injected with steroid to flatten them first, but the color will still be red. Then you can get laser treatment to remove the discoloration.

Yes, if you have red whole post I told I'm currently treated with steroid injections (had 3 injections already)

Edited by DamnLife, 18 February 2013 - 12:16 PM.

[DC-girl]

Of course you can have surgery, but if you already have keloids you will replace the scar with another one; although it will probably be better.

 

5fu injections might be better than cortisone; it doesn't have as many side effects. I'm supposed to get my 1st 5fu injection this week.

 

You can also look into Cryoshape; I just came across that this week.

http://cryoshape.com/

 

Also, you need to realize those will most likely get much better with time. They won't be like that forever.

I would continue with the IPL, that's a good idea. I just read a Pubmed study saying it improved keloids and hypertrophic scars.

 

Studies:

http://onlinelibrary...8165.x/abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18560927

Edited by DC-girl, 18 February 2013 - 08:11 AM.

[Mr Guru]

Of course you can have surgery, but if you already have keloids you will replace the scar with another one; although it will probably be better.

 

5fu injections might be better than cortisone; it doesn't have as many side effects. I'm supposed to get my 1st 5fu injection this week.

 

You can also look into Cryoshape; I just came across that this week.

http://cryoshape.com/

 

Also, you need to realize those will most likely get much better with time. They won't be like that forever.

I would continue with the IPL, that's a good idea. I just read a Pubmed study saying it improved keloids and hypertrophic scars.

 

Studies:

http://onlinelibrary...8165.x/abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18560927

Thanks for the info, but I'll try to consult surgeon maybe he could try to cut off one scar and if it comes back I'll either stick to your advice or try to get CO2 laser treatment 

Oh and I did research but couldn't find the answer so maybe you know, is cryoshape cryotherapy and cryosurgery the same?

Edited by DamnLife, 18 February 2013 - 03:15 PM.

[Homer0001]

I'm basically your twin. Dozens of keloids on chest/shoulders. Haven't been publicly shirtless in years.

 

I've spoken with 3-5 dermatologists... had 12ish steroid injection sessions, 5-7ish laser sessions. Basically, I've lost count I've had a lot of treatment sessions.

 

Here is my advice for you:

 

(1) Find a very good, aggressive dermatologist

When my scars (5ish years old) were initially injected with steroids, the doctor tried 5mg concentration and then 10mg concentration. Nothing happened and he refused to try a higher concentration. So I found a new doctor. With him I did 4 or 5 sessions with 20mg concentration (a fairly high concentration; an upper limit for many doctors). Still nothing. I then found a new doctor who was willing to try 30mg (a high concentration). Finally results! Within a few sessions my scars were flat. So, I suggest you keep this in mind, especially since you have older scars.

 

(2) It's true, the scars will never be 100% clear

Steroids should flatten them completely, but in my experiences the redness is the #1 problem. I did many sessions with the pulsed dye laser--the supposed gold standard of keloid redness treatment--and it didn't do jack shit! It may have even caused my flattened scars to re-raise! I'm still in the process of trying to find a new laser to try, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence whatsoever that any other laser would have any effect. Try calling dozens of doctors all over the country and you'll see what I mean. Some will have CO2 lasers, they'll say it will treat redness, then they'll say other lasers, like the nd:yag, are junk and won't work. Some doctors will have nd:yag lasers, praise them, then say CO2 lasers won't work.

 

As soon as I can find any sort of reasonable rationale for why some of these lasers work and other won't, I'll try one. In the mean time, I'm applying silicone gel every night. So I know the scars will always be there, but I'm still being proactive about treating them. Hopefully they will fade quicker than if I wasn't treating them at all.

 

Good luck!

[Mr Guru]

Thanks Homer0001, it's good to know that I'm not the only one with this problem. I have appointment with surgeon on March 7 maybe he could help who knows I have heard that keloids return after surgical removal but skin graft may prevent that.

[Homer0001]

It's definitely worth a shot to see what he thinks. I went to one and we couldn't do any surgical removal because there were so many scars and they were just a little too big.

[Mr Guru]

Yep that's the problem I have so many scars about 30-40 anyway I'll let you know what he told me

[Mr Guru]

Update!

I've had appointment with surgeon, sadly he was so rude and told me it's too much of a job to remove those scars...

He also told me that I don't need to remove these and be happy that I have clear face, I tried to convince him but as I said he was so rude that I almost wanted to kill him!

Anyway I'll make an appointment with another plastic surgeon (probably a better one) already emailed him, now waiting for his response.

Homer0001, I hope we are not screwed with those ugly scars and there is something we can do about them...

[Homer0001]

Sorry to hear about that appointment. Keep at it, and keep searching for dermatologists too, not just plastic surgeons.

[Mr Guru]

I'll try... But I'm losing hope, you said that you tried almost every treatment with little to no improvement right?

So only real hope is plastic surgeon, just need to find the one who will do this hard work