Early postoperative magnet application combined with hydrocolloid dressing for the treatment of earlobe keloids.

BACKGROUND

To prevent the recurrence of earlobe keloids after surgical removal, a reliable and safe postoperative treatment method is critical. To the authors' knowledge, no studies have elucidated the most effective postoperative dressing method for preventing the recurrence of earlobe keloids. This study aimed to compare keloid recurrence rates in patients whose keloids were dressed using conventional methods (plain gauze or a polyvinyl alcohol sponge) with those of a matched cohort of patients whose keloids were dressed using magnets combined with hydrocolloid materials.

METHODS

This observational case-control study compared a retrospective cohort of patients whose keloids were dressed using conventional methods with a matched prospective cohort of patients whose keloids were dressed using magnets combined with hydrocolloid materials. The study included patients with pathologically confirmed earlobe keloids that were surgically excised with primary closure. Patients 8 years of age or older underwent adjuvant pressure therapy with magnets at the study hospital. Patients were excluded from the study if they were unavailable for follow-up evaluation, if they had received additional adjuvant therapy during treatment, or if histologic confirmation of a keloid was not obtained. Matched-pair analysis was performed using the McNemar test. Treatment outcome was evaluated as recurrence or nonrecurrence.

RESULTS

Overall, 9 (11.2%) of the 80 study patients experienced recurrence. The recurrence rate was significantly lower in the matched case group (2 of 40, 5%) than in the matched control group (7 of 40, 17.5%) during the follow-up period of 18 months (p=0.0253).

CONCLUSIONS

The authors' novel dressing of magnets and hydrocolloid materials appears to be effective in reducing earlobe keloid recurrence.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .