Treatment of keloids and hypertrophic scars with an argon laser

A report is given on the treatment of keloids and hypertrofic scars using an argon laser. Of the 45 patients who participated, only three patients had a diminishing of over 50%, and 40 patients were classified as obtaining slight improvement, which means a diminishing of between 20 and 50% of the original keloid. Twenty-seven patients showed no change after treatment with the argon laser and one patient had a poorer result, due to a complication after the last treatment. Directly after treatment, most keloids showed an obvious shrinkage. After several days, however, the keloids became the same size as before treatment. Decrease of tension of the skin after treatment seems to influence the result favorably. We find the best response to treatment with an argon laser in long narrow keloids (hypertrofic scars). In general, the results are disappointing, especially because until now the literature claims good results on this subject.