General
I want RADIATION therapy for my KELOID
Mar 8
• 1 minute read
Radiation Therapy
There are some surgeons who are using radiation therapy as a first-line adjunctive treatment with surgery. This means they are removing the keloid and immediately radiating the site without using the other first-line modalities. Those first-line treatments are steroid injections, 5-fluorouracil, or a combination of these.
These medications — steroid injections, 5-fluorouracil, and pressure therapy — used at the time of surgery work almost 90% or more of the time.
The downsides to radiation are that it destroys your normal skin biology. Your skin loses blood flow, it becomes dry, flaking occurs, and it may become hard permanently or for a long period of time.
Finally, in some areas of the body, low-dose radiation is not recommended because it can cause cellular changes that may predispose tissue to developing malignancy.
Consequently, I have a great deal of trepidation and do not use radiation as a first-line adjunctive treatment. I reserve radiation for very severe cases that have failed every other modality possible. This should be the standard of care.
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