Hypertrophic & Keloid Scars Treatments

What are Hypertrophic & Keloid Scars?

Scars are the body's natural way of healing from an injury, and are an inevitable part of the healing process. Each scar is unique to the individual and the circumstance in which it is formed. The way they develop is also unpredictable.

Poor healing may contribute to scars that are obvious, unsightly or disfiguring. Even a wound that heals well can result in a scar that affects your appearance. Scars may be raised or recessed, different in color or texture from surrounding healthy tissue or particularly noticeable due to their size, shape or location.

Some people produce better scars than others, for example 'poor scars' such as hypertrophic or keloid scars stay visible and cause skin irritation for a number of months. When these 'visible' scars fade they tend to whiten and remain equally visible – unlike a 'good scar' which blends in well with the surrounding tissue.

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Words from our clients:

“I have used Dr Mayou for years as my children’s dermatologist and was very pleased to discover she could take care of me as well. She has been extremely helpful, checking for melanoma and other skin issues as well as more cosmetic concerns. I have found her to be sensible and practical with a lovely manner and trust she is looking after the whole picture of my skins health and looks.”

Jess K

"Everything was brilliant staff were incredibly friendly exact amount of info was given. Have already recommended this company to friends and family."

Clare Brooks

“Wonderful service, knowledgeable staff, friendly service and comfortable ambience - well run. I will use you again in the future.“

Sarah Tylor

"There is nothing that I feel could be improved at Cadogan Clinic. I was treated and looked after very well the place was very clean. Perfect. Thank you."

Emma Grant

"The treatment was for my daughter and the aesthetic practitioner couldn't have been more helpful and informative all through the course of treatment, it was a great treatment with a brilliant outcome. The whole experience was very professional and any worries we went in with were soon taken away after the team greeted us and treated us."

Jessica Yates

Why do people have it?

Removal or reduction of unsightly raised scars
Decreased itchiness of scar site
Pain relief
Psychological improvement
Swift, effective treatment (non-surgical or surgical)

What are the different types of Scars?

Flat, pale scars

These are the most common form of scar. They may be red, dark and slightly raised soon after injury, but will become pale and fade naturally as the healing process progresses.

Keloid scars

Keloid scars are highly visible, exaggerated scars that are irregular in shape, raised well above the surface and continue to grow beyond the wound site. These are caused by over-healing and can become itchy and painful. The risk of keloid scars is much higher in darker skin.

Hypertrophic scars

Hypertrophic scars are red and raised, similar to keloid scars, but do not go beyond the injury. These may mature and regress over time.

Contracture scars

Contracture scars tighten the skin and may go deeper beneath the skin, affecting nerves and muscles. They normally pull down into the skin and have a sunken appearance.

What does treatment involve?

There are a number of effective treatments available for scar revision, especially if you have a scar that's painful, itchy or unsightly, or if it restricts your movement.

Scars can't be removed completely, but they can be made less visible, either through surgery or non-surgical means.

The most common treatments are:

Enerjet
Injectables
Laser treatments (e.g. ICON)
Liquid nitrogen/freezing
Surgical scar revision

We offer all of these at the Cadogan Clinic, often in combination with each other depending on the size, location and profile of the scar.

Why is it so important to see a highly qualified Scar Specialist?

The more complex the scar, the more important it is to see a specialist and receive professional medical advice.

Keloid and hypertrophic scars may also require a team of laser experts, aestheticians and dermatologists. At the Cadogan Clinic, we create bespoke treatment plans for each scar and often use the skills of more than one specialist to deliver the best result.

The Patient Journey. What you can expect on your journey with us

You will meet with one of our highly trained cosmetic dermatologists or surgeons at the Clinic on Sloane Street, Chelsea, for a no-obligation in-person assessment.

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Scars (Hypertrophic & Keloid) Consultants

We have invited a selection of the country's very best consultants to join us at the Cadogan Clinic so that you can be sure that whatever the nature of your treatment, you will be seeing one of the top practitioners in the country.

Our Specialists

Mr. Garrick Georgeu

Aesthetic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon

Dr. Nisith Sheth

Dermatologist and Dermatological Surgeon

Frequently Asked Questions

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What causes keloid scarring?

It is still unknown what the exact cause of keloid scarring is.

They can develop after surgery, after major skin trauma, or even after very minor skin damage such as is caused by chickenpox, minor scratches or vaccination sites. Strangely, they may also develop even if there's no obvious damage to the skin at all.

Keloids typically occur in younger individuals, often between the ages of 10 – 30 years of age. The tendency to keloid scar does run in families.

What types of skin are most susceptible to keloid scarring?

The darker the skin, the more susceptible it is to keloid scarring. Studies show that whilst Caucasian skin has a 2% incidence of keloid scarring, this is as high as 12% among darker-toned skin profiles.

Where on the body do keloid scars tend to form?

Keloids have a shiny and hairless appearance with a firm 'rubbery' feel. They usually occur on the upper chest and shoulders – particularly over the thin skin on the breastbone – and on the earlobes.

In people with dark skin, they often occur in the beard area and on the scalp.

Are keloid scars dangerous?

Keloid scars are not dangerous but can be itchy and tender or even painful to touch.

The emotional impact of these scars, however, is often greater than the physical one as they can cause great distress, particularly in younger patients, and can seriously undermine self-confidence.

Keloids carry no cancer risk.

Is it best to treat complex scars sooner rather than later?

The sooner the better. Ideally, the scar should be treated as soon as the wound site starts healing.

What is the difference between 'good' and 'bad' scarring?

Some people produce better scars than others.

A 'good' scar fades significantly after appearing and blends in with the surrounding skin tone. A 'poor' scar, such as a keloid or hypertrophic scar, will stay visible and cause skin irritation for a number of months after formation. When these 'poor' scars fade they tend to whiten, flatten but, remain visible.

Good scars have the following characteristics:

Often caused by having the right genes. Some people simply scar better than others. Darker skin is more prone to make the worst scars, so too Celtic skin and those with red hair at the opposite extreme are also often poor scar makers
The scar is in the right direction in the lines of skin tension. Experienced trained surgeons will choose to position scars properly as for instance transversely across the abdomen rather than vertically downwards.
Located in naturally optimal areas, such as by avoiding the centre of the chest or tip of the shoulder
Scars may be hidden discretely below areas such as the breast, behind the ear, in the groin or in the armpit (axilla).
Influenced early by proper surgical care. Surgeons can influence the result by meticulous technique and using dissolving sutures or glue and removing other stitches early enough to avoid stitch marks.

What is the Bilhi genetic scarring test?

The Cadogan Clinic has introduced the Bilhi genetic test that can determine from a saliva sample whether you might be a 'poor' scar former. This is particularly useful ahead of surgery since a positive result can influence the decision to go ahead with surgery, and where to place scars if one chooses to do so. It can also mean our comprehensive Scar Management programme can be applied proactively, immediately after surgery.

We are the only clinic in the UK where this is available.

What is the Scar Management Programme at Cadogan Clinic?

Scar quality is extremely important to us and to our patients. To mitigate the risk or impact of scars, we take a proactive scar management approach to all surgical activity done on-site.

All patients undergoing surgical procedures with us are eligible for this treatment, but this will be of particular interest to patients who could potentially have larger scars in areas of the body where they could be an issue. In particular, after breast surgery, abdominal reduction and facelifts.

Our care programme includes:

Bespoke, tailored advice from our post-operative wound care nursing team
24-hr access to our on-call nursing team to answer any questions
Access to core follow up treatments such as; Silicone gel or sheets, ICON Fractional laser treatment, LED light treatment

Some patients may be advised to also undergo:

PRP: healing factors (platelet-rich plasma) are taken from your own blood and injected under the scar to promote healing and tissue rejuvenation.
Micro-needling or 'collagen induction therapy'. This involves using fine needles to create hundreds of tiny, invisible puncture wounds in the top layer of skin. These micro-injuries are virtually painless and stimulate the body's natural wound healing processes resulting in increased collagen and elastin production, tissue regeneration and skin repair
Steroid Injections: A highly effective treatment for lowering and taking inflammation out of established active scars and for those at risk of developing keloids.
Irradiation for keloids: a treatment via superficial radiotherapy to prevent keloids from forming post-surgery. In the case of existing keloids, they can be excised and the new wound treated with irradiation to prevent a new one from forming.
Repair cream (Ticalfate, Cicaplast): a useful adjunct, but given for patient comfort rather than efficacy.

Whilst we cannot guarantee a perfect scar, we can guarantee that our scar management programme will give your body the very best chance to heal and recover properly.

How do I achieve a better scar?

Although scarring is largely a function of the trauma involved in creating it in the first place, for those patients undergoing elective surgery the following activity is recommended.

Take a pre-emptive Bilhi genetic scarring test. This will give your surgical team the best idea of your genetic disposition toward poor scarring, and the team can plan accordingly.
If you suffer from a chronic disease, ensure that you are in the very best possible condition ahead of surgery. Infection rates and healing speed and quality can be directly impacted.
Ensure you are properly nourished: overly nourished (obese) patients suffer more infections whilst under-nourished (those lacking vitamins) lack the necessary elements to drive recovery.
Avoid smoking. Smoking is always bad for healing and patients undergoing facelifts, breast reductions and lifts and abdominal reductions should stop smoking three weeks before surgery. If smokers are also overweight then the risk is greatly increased.
Avoid the sun – scars are sun-sensitive. Post-surgery, it is important to stay out of the sun for a period of time and use factor 50 sunblock. Patients with olive or darker skin need particularly to avoid sunshine.
Avoid exercise initially – exercise will cause tension in the wound and should be reduced in the first two weeks.

What can a surgeon do to influence scar formation?

Skilled surgeons can influence the quality of the scar by choosing the optimum position and orientation of the scar during surgery.

For instance, a vertical scar in front of the ear will be a good scar, while a transverse scar across the cheek will be a poor scar. Our surgeons aim to keep the scar as short as possible and to repair the wound with appropriate stitches. Any conventional stitch through the skin will need to be removed early to avoid stitch marks. In many areas of the body, the surgeon will choose to use dissolving suture materials under the skin, thus avoiding stitch marks altogether.

Any signs of slow healing or infection are treated promptly by our expert team. Prolonged redness or raised keloid scars are treated early, as well as patients with olive or darker skin may develop extra pigmentation around the scar, called post-inflammatory inflammation (PID).

Why are you so passionate about scar management at Cadogan Clinic?

We know that with due care and consideration, a far superior outcome can be achieved on a patient by patient basis if the right process is adopted from the outset of treatment and the right treatments applied.

We have the skills in-house to dramatically improve patient outcomes, and we are passionate about delivering them to the widest possible audience via our programme.

A state of the art, award winning clinic.

Founded in 2004 by world renowned plastic surgeon Mr Bryan Mayou, we now work with over 100 leading consultants and successfully treat over 20,000 patients each year. We have been winning industry awards since inception.

About Us

Best in Class Facilities

All of our treatments take place at our beautiful boutique premises in Chelsea. We have six consulting rooms and five operating rooms, as well as a dedicated pre and post-operative suite, and a full team of specialist nursing staff.

Our Clinic

A Strong Tradition of Innovation

We were founded in 2004 by world renown plastic surgeon Mr Bryan Mayou, best known for his pioneering work in the area of liposuction, lasers and microvascular surgery. We continue to collaborate with pioneers in our field.

Our History

At Home in Sloane Street, London

We are proud that our state of the art award-winning clinic is located in one of the best neighbourhoods in the country

Welcome to Sloane Street

Clinics Nationwide

We offer surgical consultations in London, Birmingham, Chelmsford and Bristol, and attract international patients from all corners of the globe such as as the USA, the Middle East and Europe.

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How To Find Us

The Cadogan Clinic is based at 120 Sloane Street in Chelsea, just off Sloane Square and the Kings Road.

We are accessible by all major bus routes that pass through Sloane Square and Sloane Street, as well as Sloane Square tube station.

We are just a 5 minute walk northwards up Sloane Street once you have arrived at Sloane Square.

Local pay parking is available just around the corner from the Clinic on Cadogan Gate, Cadogan Square and Cadogan Gardens. Our local residential parking zone is the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

Address: 120 Sloane Street, Chelsea, London, SW1X 9BW

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One of our friendly staff will be delighted to help with your enquiry.

0207 901 8500

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Our Lead Patient Advisor is here to support with any queries you may have

Scars (Hypertrophic & Keloid)

What are Hypertrophic & Keloid Scars?

Why do people have it?

What are the different types of Scars?

What does treatment involve?

Why is it so important to see a highly qualified Scar Specialist?

Scars (Hypertrophic & Keloid) Consultants

Frequently Asked Questions

A state of the art, award winning clinic.

How To Find Us

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