Treatment: Hypertrophic scars do not need to be treated, because most will eventually flatten and blend with the surrounding skin. Intralesional triamcinolone may be used to help speed the process along, but care should be taken not to inject too much and thereby cause atrophy. Daily massage by the patient has also been shown to be effective in decreasing the outward appearance of the scar. The redness of both hypertrophic and keloid scars can be treated successfully with pulsed dye laser.

Keloids are more challenging to treat. They have a high rate of recurrence after excisional removal, and for this reason adjunctive therapy should always be used after excision. Serial injections with intralesional triamcinolone monthly for 4 to 6 months may help avoid a recurrence after surgery. Postoperative radiation therapy has also been very successful in decreasing the recurrence rate. There are anecdotal reports of treatment with imiquimod and cryotherapy, but they are of questionable value.

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