A 32-year-old lady of African heritage presented to Dr Ed Omarjee with a large growing lump on her lower ear. The lump on her lower ear lobe was a complicated shape due to past treatment to remove the keloid scar in Africa. This was not a great surgical experience in Africa for the removal of her keloid scar, where she had no formal follow-up post removal. The appearance of this lump had lowered her self-confidence and was uncomfortable. The keloid scar occurred 6 months after a simple ear piercing. She had no prior medical issues or past history of keloid or hypertrophic scarring.
After a thorough assessment (medical history, examination), Dr Omarjee outlined the treatment process with this pleasant young lady. She would undergo a surgical removal of the scar tissue from her lower ear and then undergo a treatment regimen to reduce the risk of recurrence of her keloid scar. The patient was aware of the difficulty of her keloid, as her recurrent ear keloid scar was involving her whole remaining earlobe, and there was a possibility her lower ear would be deformed to remove as much scar tissue as possible with the upcoming removal with Dr Ed Omarjee.
Her surgical removal of her keloid scar was performed painlessly after a quick local anaesthetic to the ear area. The ear is dressed post procedure and all aftercare is thoroughly discussed with the patient. If there are any concerns or questions after hours, all patients have access to Dr Omarjee by The DOC Clinic after hours phone service. She was able to drive home straight afterward and was reviewed by Dr Ed a few weeks later with the start of the next step to control her scar condition. At the 5 month stage (see images below) the healing lower ear looks excellent and we now have one happy and very confident 32 year old patient ☺.
Keloid scars are spontaneous growths that are firm and smooth and grow due to an injury. They can be any shape and any size. They can occur shortly after the injury, or several months later, and usually continue to grow for a long time. They can be symptomatic (itchy, painful or throb) or have no symptoms at all. They extend beyond the edges of the initial injury, hence growing vertically and also spreading radially. They occur more commonly on the ears, upper chest, breast, and upper back and in darker skin types. But the precise cause of keloid scars is still not clear. The earlier one seeks appropriate experienced assessment and treatment, the better the outcome.
