What is a keloid?
A keloid forms when fibroblasts go into overdrive during healing and pile up too much collagen. It can grow beyond the original wound and is often red, firm, itchy or painful. Keloids tend to show up on the ears, chest, shoulders and jawline. Raised scars after surgery, injury or acne are called hypertrophic scars, and they're treated on similar principles.
How Datena treats them
The core treatment is injecting a steroid (triamcinolone) directly into the scar tissue to gradually flatten it. The injections suppress fibroblast activity and collagen production, slowly leveling the lesion and easing itching and pain. Once the keloid turns white and firm from the injections, we use the UltraPulse CO2 laser to make tightly spaced tiny holes (pinholes) that loosen the clumped collagen. If redness is strong, we add a vascular laser (Vbeam).
Sessions are usually spaced 4–6 weeks apart, and you'll need several. This isn't a one-and-done fix: consistency is key, and since keloids can come back depending on your constitution, we keep monitoring after treatment ends. Injection sites may bruise or stay red for a few days, and scabs at the pinhole sites last 5–7 days.
Surgical, stitched and injury scars
Linear scars from C-sections, thyroid surgery, double-eyelid or epicanthoplasty surgery, or stitched wounds are handled with our partial scar treatment. We plan by scar length, release the tissue under the scar with subcision and CureJet while delivering medication, and add pinholes and laser when needed. Raised scars get injections first; sunken scars get regenerative treatment first.
Stretch marks
We sort stretch marks by color. Red stretch marks still have active blood vessels, so we use a vascular laser (Vbeam) to calm the redness and stop them from progressing. White, set-in stretch marks work like sunken scars: we check the area first, then move on to partial scar treatment (subcision, CureJet, UltraPulse). We decide which applies to you at your consultation.
Scars that are hard for us to treat
Single scars larger than a coin, large burn scars, and very thin incision scars may improve only modestly. At your first consultation we'll tell you honestly how much is possible, and if surgical excision would serve you better, we'll say so.
Acne scars: Skin Therapy Program → · Before & after photos →
