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Scientific Oral Presentation

Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Evidence-based Management of Head and Neck Keloids: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Monday, October 19, 2026
1:00 PM - 1:06 PM PT
Location: 404A

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Jk

    Jillian P. krebs, MD

    Resident Physician
    University of Tennessee Health Science Center
    Memphis, TN, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • DW

    David M. Weatherford, MD

    Research Fellow
    University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Tennessee, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • GT

    Gemma W. Toogood, BS

    Student
    University of Tennessee
    Memphis, Tennessee, United States

  • Christina N. Ward, MD

    Resident Physician
    University of Tennessee Health Science Center
    Memphis, Tennessee, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Anas A. Eid, MD

    Assistant Professor
    University of Tennessee
    Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Disclosure(s):
Jillian P. krebs, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Keloids are pathologically benign lesions that have high recurrence rates if not carefully managed and can cause functional or cosmetic deformity. Our study aimed to review all published literature specific to treatment of head and neck (H&N) keloids.

Methods: A systematic literature review of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library was performed in January 2025 and registered with Prospero. A medical librarian performed the database search using keywords and MeSH terms including but not limited to "Keloid", "Head and Neck", "Surgery", "Fluorouracil", "Triamcinolone", and "Radiotherapy". The studies were independently reviewed by two reviewers; a third reviewer resolved conflicts. Studies were included if they were prospective or retrospective investigations of H&N keloid treatment with N > 10 and published in English before January 2025.

Results: A total of 716 unique citations were identified, of which 31 studies met inclusion criteria for quantitative analysis, and an additional 80 were included in qualitative synthesis. Across all included studies, 8,172 keloids were treated, including 1,594 keloids among studies eligible for quantitative analysis. Within the quantitative cohort, recurrence rates were significantly higher with intralesional corticosteroid injection or laser ablation alone compared to excision alone. In contrast, multimodality treatment approaches were associated with higher success rates and a significant reduction in recurrence. Excision followed by adjuvant therapy (corticosteroid injection with pressure therapy, radiation therapy, or radiation combined with platelet-rich plasma) was associated with significantly lower recurrence rates compared with excision alone.

Conclusions: Preliminary evidence from this review supports that surgical excision combined with adjuvant corticosteroid and pressure therapy or adjuvant radiation provide the most effective strategy to reduce recurrence in H&N keloids