I have a bumpy scar at a piercing site on my ear, what should I do?

I had a third hole put in my ear. I went to one of those jewelry stores to have it done. It took forever to heal. I now had a large bump on the back of my ear. Do I go to a plastic surgeon or dermatologist to have it removed?

Generally, these are called keloid scars and are common on the ears.   My daughter got one when her ear piercing site got infected and they can be a pain to get rid of.

In general, my vote it to first see a good dermatologist and have him/her look at the site and perhaps do a bacterial culture to make sure there still isn’t a low level infection going on.  If so, that needs to be treated first.

Then the problem is to find a good surgeon – either a dermatologic surgeon or a plastic surgeon who is used to treating these.   Sometimes more harm can be done by an inexperienced surgeon who just removes it, but doesn’t know how to do the pre and post care.   Good care should include very regular follow-ups for at least 6 months or so, to make sure the keloid doesn’t recur again.

These are age related so sometimes the best option is to wait until later (like late 20s or even 30ish) to have these removed.

Hope this helps,    Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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Hi, I’m Dr. Irwin. I believe that consumers deserve a medically trained and unbiased skin care advocate.

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