Treatment of Keloid Scars by Botulinum Toxin

Keloid scars are behind an invalidating aesthetic and functional problem for patients as well as pain, and the treatments currently used do not result in total, consistent resolution of this problem. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) through its antiinflammatory and antalgic action and its effect on muscular fibres, has an action on these pathological scars. We first treated retro-auricular post otoplasty keloid scarring by injecting type A Botulinum toxin in a 14-year old patient resistant to corticosteroid injections. Both ears were affected. This first patient was injected for 3 years, every 3 months. The treatment on the left ear was only BoNT-A, and on the right was BoNT-A and surgical reduction. After the very encouraging result of this case, we injected 16 other patients. Two were lost to follow-up. For the others, the results on pain and aesthetic appearance are good to very good. Of course, further randomisedcontrolled studies are required to confirm the present results so that the treatment can become more widespread.