Intralesional cryosurgery combined with topical silicone gel sheeting for the treatment of refractory keloids.

BACKGROUND: A variety of therapeutic procedures for treating keloids have been previously reported, with varying success and recurrence rates. As a monotherapy, intralesional cryosurgery has yielded convincing clinical results.

OBJECTIVE: We combined intralesional cryosurgery with the application of topical silicone gel sheeting.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, which was conducted between 2008 and 2012, 21 patients with 32 keloids were enrolled. Twenty-five lesions were treated with intralesional cryotherapy combined with postoperative silicone gel sheeting (the cryotherapy + silicone group), and 7 keloids were treated with intralesional cryotherapy alone (the cryotherapy group). The scar volume reduction was assessed, and the patients' subjective and objective parameters were evaluated. Additionally, patient satisfaction was estimated using a modified Gorney Gram scale (0-3).

RESULTS: In all cases (n = 32 for both groups), a significant keloid volume reduction was observed. The patients' subjective complaints were significantly improved, whereas the combined therapy showed slightly better results in hardness (p < .0012), pain (p < .0233), and discomfort (p < .0029), whereas monotherapy achieved higher satisfaction scores in redness (p < .0220) and pruritus (p < .0206), although these differences were not significant between the treatment modalities.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study support the use of combined intralesional cryosurgery followed by the application of silicone gel sheeting to treat refractory keloids.