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Intralesional cryosurgery and
intralesional steroid injection:
a good combination therapy
for treatment of keloids
and hypertrophic scars
Ahmed Hany Weshahy & Rania Abdel Hay
Dermatology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
ABSTRACT: Hypertrophic scars and keloids exhibit high recurrence rates following surgical excision.
Intralesional cryosurgery (ILC) can achieve a higher degree of effectiveness than the surface cryo-
therapy. The aim of this study is to assess the clinical efficacy of ILC using Weshahy cryoneedles followed
by IL steroid in a trial of getting rid of the fibrous mass by destruction, not by surgery to avoid being
under tension of the new scar. This study included 22 patients. Evaluation of the volume reduction of
the lesions was done after a single ILC session followed by IL steroid injections. There was a significant
decrease in the volume of the lesions after 4 months (P < 0.01), with a volume reduction of 93.5%. By
using ILC at the base of keloids or hypertrophic scars, we can change the old fibrous tissue into a recent
scar or granulation tissue which will respond more successfully to IL steroid injection.
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Weshahy & Abdel Hay
effectiveness and avoid many of the disadvantages score 0 revealing minimum complaint and score 3
of the conventional surface techniques. revealing maximum complaint, before and 7
Although some trials have been published using months from the start of our treatment protocol.
the ILC for treatment of keloids and hypertrophic Photographs were taken before, within 2 weeks,
scars (9,10,1214), our aim in this article was to and in each visit as well as recording of any side
publish the experience of the inventor of such effects.
technique on 22 patients with long follow-up The technique was applied by using Weshahy
period (more than 3 years). cryoneedles (specially designed angled or hook
shaped needles) that were introduced into the skin
as previously described (11).
Aim of the work
This study was designed to assess the clinical safety
and efficacy of ILC using Weshahy cryoneedles in Statistical analysis
the treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids in Data were coded and entered using the statistical
a trial to get rid of the fibrous mass by destruction, package for social science (SPSS) version 17 (SPSS
not by surgery, to avoid under tension of the new Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Data were summarized
scar, and to convert the hard fibrous tissue into a using mean SD for quantitative variables and %
recent scar easier for IL steroid injection for better for qualitative variables. Comparisons between
spreading of the steroid injected and decreasing groups were done using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks
the resistance faced with the IL steroid injection. test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically
significant.
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Intralesional cyosurgery
FIG. 1. A female patient (a) with a keloidal lesion at her left ear with 6 cm3 volume (b) during the intralesional cryosurgery (ILC)
session with the frost denoted at the base of the lesion (c) 4 months after the session with complete keloidal disappearance.
follow-up period which disappeared gradually by The therapeutic effects of cryosurgery depend
repeated IL steroid injection on the successive on direct cell damage and changes in the microcir-
follow-up visits. culation provoked by freezing that cause vascular
damage and blood stasis within the keloid tissue
leading to cell anoxia (18), the keloid is composed
Discussion mainly of fibrous tissue that resists the freezing
process (8).
Cryosurgery has been successfully used to treat The contact and spray techniques are the
keloids and hypertrophic scars (48,10,1214). In two mostly practiced methods for cryosurgery.
this study, all indices were significantly improved However, the depth of freezing attained by these
for all cases (Table 1). two techniques is not enough to complete the
The results of our study are comparable with operation in one or two sessions (19), and cant
those reported previously (10,13,14,16,17). Our reach the base of the lesion effectively leading to
better results may be explained by the more high rates of recurrence. Surface cryotherapy also
timewe gave until the ice cylinder formed produces an open, oozing wound which is consid-
extended 2 mm outside the clinical borders of the erably larger than the size of the lesion due to the
lesions, and by the deep insertion of our cry- lateral extension of cryodestruction that usually
oneedles at or immediately under the base of the takes several weeks to heal. In addition, a certain
lesions, targeting the blood supply of the lesion, degree of skin atrophy and longer hypopigmenta-
others might do the procedure more superficially. tion is also inevitable with this approach because
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