Prophylactic external beam radiation therapy for keloid prevention in thyroid surgery patients

Poor cosmesis, secondary to keloid or hypertrophic scar, following thyroid surgery may cause considerable patient distress and be a significant challenge to treat. In this case series we examined the efficacy of prophylactic external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for prevention of keloid formation in keloid-prone patients undergoing thyroid surgery. While much has been published about documenting the efficacy in reducing keloid formation following keloid excision, very little literature exists documenting prophylactic use related to surgeries with the goal of prevent de novo keloid formation.

We retrospectively evaluated a series of ten patients, who underwent a prophylactic EBRT for keloid prevention after thyroid surgery between January 2013 and February 2019. Patient demographics, primary diagnosis, surgical procedure, EBRT dosage, and post-operative visit records were reviewed.

All ten patients who received EBRT for keloid prophylaxis following a thyroid surgery were female. Half of the patients were African Americans, 40% Caucasians, and 10% Hispanic. The mean age was 46.40±15.63 years with BMI of 31.5±5.5 kg/m². Radiation was initiated within 6 hours of the surgery with an average radiation dose per session of 5.7±1.7 Gy. The total average EBRT dose delivered was 17.4±4.2 Gy. Mean follow-up period was 13 months post-thyroidectomy, with the longest follow-up at 23 months. One patient, who underwent a lateral neck dissection in addition to thyroid surgery, developed hypertrophic scar in less than 10% of her incision length. Nine other patients (90%) showed no post-surgical keloid nor hypertrophic scar formation and patients were satisfied with postsurgical cosmesis.

We examined the efficacy of prophylactic EBRT in keloid-prone patients undergoing thyroid surgery. Prophylactic EBRT following thyroid surgery is effective in achieving a satisfactory cosmetic outcome in patients at high risk for keloid formation.