What It Feels Like to Have a Scar That Never Stops Growing in Medellín
What It Feels Like to Have a Scar That Never Stops Growing in Medellín
There is something many patients tell us when they come to consultation for the first time. It is that sensation of seeing a hard, firm, and reddish lump exactly where a flat mark should be. Imagine you had hip surgery, or perhaps you had a giant pimple during the summer in Santa Marta and the wound closed well, but three weeks later, that lump started to increase in size and change color. It is frustrating because you feel the skin did not obey what you wanted. It hurts a little when you touch it, it looks different from the rest of your body, and you feel ashamed to wear the garment you used to wear without hesitation. It is not just an invisible mark; it is a physical reminder of something that happened that bothers you daily.
In consultation, we see that this occurs when the body, confused, creates more repair tissue than necessary. Your dermatologist calls them keloids, but in normal words, it is as if the body had put an industrial “glue” where only a thin sticker was needed. Unlike hypertrophic scars that stay within the edges of the wound, keloids invade the surrounding space and can grow inward into the skin, forming those hard protrusions that sometimes hurt or move if you stretch the area. It is an exaggerated response from the immune system that does not know when to stop.
What people believe is that with time, everything flattens out on its own, as if it were a superficial scratch. The reality is that keloids are permanent fibrous tissues that require active intervention to stop their expansion and reduce their size. If this happens to you, do not wait to see how it changes on its own because most of the time the lesion gets larger while you wait. My experience at the hospital in Medellín taught me that sometimes the fear of treating it is worse than the treatment itself.
Why Those Scars Grow and What Has to Do with Your Genetics
Every time you get a wound on your skin, your body sends cells called fibroblasts to repair the damage. In people with darker skin, these fibroblasts have a natural tendency to produce more collagen than in lighter skin. Collagen is that network of threads that gives structure to the skin, but when there is overproduction, those threads intertwine to form a dense and hard tissue. Additionally, chronic inflammation keeps the fibroblasts active for months when they should have gone away.
There is a specific clinical data point that helps understand this better: keloids are much more frequent in people with a black phenotype or darker skin due to genetic variability in the synthesis of type I and III collagen. Studies show that prevalence can reach 20% in populations of African descent. Another important triggering factor is mechanical tension on the wound; if you moved a lot or wore tight clothing over the area during healing, you stretched that growing tissue and gave it more signals to continue producing collagen.
An honest nuance that broke many myths in my clinic is that not all keloids look the same at the beginning. People believe they always start large and red. Sometimes they begin as small, flat, white or gray elevations, almost invisible, and only appear when the tissue matures and hardens. There is also who thinks it only occurs on extremities. The reality is that the chest, the back, and the head (where acne or surgery scars often occur) are areas where the skin moves more and is more prone to developing these lesions.
How the Treatment to Remove Keloids Works in Our Clinic
When you bring your case to our clinic, we do not start with a magic pill or promise immediate results. What we do is first evaluate the thickness of the scar and its response to touch. If the tissue is very hard and sensitive, we apply infiltrations with injectable corticosteroids. This is a procedure in which we introduce a drug directly into the lump to calm inflammation and deactivate hyperactive fibroblasts. This reduces the size and softens the texture in a notable way.
If there are resistant areas or recurrences, we can combine this with fractional CO2 laser. This laser creates controlled micro-wounds that stimulate a new remodeling of collagen, making the scar integrate better with the healthy skin. Sometimes, if the scar is very large or deforming, we propose surgical excision to remove the excess tissue and close the wound with techniques that minimize skin movement.
If you are looking for options in-store, our Verassere section has products that help keep the skin hydrated and flexible, which is key to preventing new scars from becoming keloids. But keep in mind that home remedies cannot remove formed keloids; their function is maintenance and protection. Most of the time, the best approach is a combination of local therapies and clinical procedures designed to your measure.
When You Should Schedule Your Appointment Without Waiting for It to Worsen
You should think about scheduling an appointment when you notice a flat scar starting to elevate. If you see a new lump appearing on an old wound that seemed closed, it is a sign that the scar tissue is reactivating. You should also be concerned if the scar hurts to the touch, if it moves with the skin, or if it changes color to an intense reddish tone, which indicates active inflammation.
Another clear sign is when the scar limits your movement in that area. If you feel abnormal resistance or pain when stretching the arm or moving the torso, do not wait for it to become a major problem. Keloids can affect mobility if they grow over muscles or joints. If you have a family history of these lesions and you have already had a wound that did not heal well, it is time to talk to a specialist before the next important injury.
Frequently Asked Questions About Keloids in Medellín
How much does it cost to remove keloids in Medellín without surprises? The price depends on the thickness of the scar and if you need combinations like infiltrations or laser, but there is always a clear budget when scheduling. Can keloids come back even if you have treated them before? Yes, it is possible that small new lesions appear in the same area if the care measures after the initial treatment are not maintained. Can I use creams at home to remove them completely without going to the doctor?