Effect of triamcinolone in keloids morphological changes and cell apoptosis.

Objective: to assess the effects of injectable triamcinolone on keloid scars length, height and thickness, and on the number of cells undergoing apoptosis.

Methods: This study consists in a prospective, controlled, randomized, single-blinded clinical trial, conducted with fifteen patients with ear keloids divided into two groups: group 1 - seven patients undergoing keloid excisions, and group 2 - eight patients undergoing keloid excisions after three sessions of infiltration with one ml of Triamcinolone hexacetonide (20mg/ml) with three week intervals between them and between the last session and surgery. The two groups were homogeneous regarding age, gender and evolution of the keloid scar.