Surgical excision and skin grafting combined with intralesional injection of triamcinolone for the treatment of keloids after syndactyly release

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of surgery combined with triamcinolone acetonide injection in managing the difficult problem of keloid formation after syndactyly release. Twenty-two patients with keloid formation after syndactyly release were retrospectively reviewed. They were divided into a simple surgery group and a surgery plus injection group. Complications, web quality, scar score and satisfaction were assessed and compared. In the surgery plus injection group, three patients (3/13) experienced recurrence and ten webs were good, whereas in the simple surgery group, seven patients (7/9) experienced recurrence and five webs were poor. The mean Vancouver Scar Scale score was significantly lower (4.3 versus 7.8) and the mean Faces Questionnaire satisfaction score was higher (4.2 versus 2.6) in the surgery plus injection group. Combining surgical excision with early and repeated intralesional injection can achieve better results with low recurrence rate and side effects.