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Bilateral Keloids Following Ear Piercing
Postoperative inflammation occurred shortly after this 25-year-old woman's earlobes were pierced.
Postoperative inflammation occurred shortly after this 25-year-old woman's earlobes were pierced. Within a few months, bilateral keloids developed at the sites. The keloid on the left ear is shown here.
A 4-month course of intralesional triamcinolone acetonide injections (40 mg/mL, once a month) was followed by carbon dioxide laser surgery to remove the keloid on the left ear. A postoperative intralesional injection of triamcinolone acetonide was given monthly for 6 months.
The keloid on the right ear was surgically excised following 4 months of triamcinolone acetonide injections; the postoperative regimen was identical to that of the left ear.
The surgically excised keloid recurred within 4 months; the laser-treated left ear remained free of the scarring 2 years longer than the right ear.
