Keloid Care AI Advice Versus a Specialist

When you search for keloids, AI is now often the first to provide answers. While AI is an excellent tool for quickly organizing common knowledge, there are instances where its answers cannot be fully trusted in highly specialized areas like keloid treatment. As more patients bring information provided by AI to their consultations, it has become increasingly necessary to clarify what can be referenced and where a specialist's judgment is required. This article aims to address the gaps in commonly circulating information about keloids.

AI generally conveys textbook information with relative accuracy. In handling academic, textual knowledge, it is faster and more extensive than humans can keep up with. However, its limitations are clear. There is still clinical experience and know-how that has not been put into text, and many factors that determine the outcome of keloid treatment lie precisely in that realm.

Ultimately, the core is not the quantity of information, but the presence of expertise in handling that information. Even with the same keloid, the outcome may vary depending on the experience and know-how of the treating physician.

Silicone gels and sheets are effective for general scar prevention. However, their effectiveness in preventing keloids is viewed cautiously. AI seems to suggest that "if it helps with general scars, it will naturally help with keloids," but there is no clear evidence that it is definitively effective for keloids. The idea that methods effective for general scars will work identically for keloids needs to be re-evaluated.

In the past, when scar treatments were less advanced, compression therapy was commonly used. However, this is not a fundamental solution.

• During compression, it temporarily appears to be flattened.
• Once compression is released, it quickly protrudes again.
• This is because it's like pressing on an iceberg submerged in water; the internal volume remains the same.

While there may be a very subtle effect, it is difficult to achieve the desired results relative to the effort invested. This is true for general scars and even more so for keloids.

The statement "UV light worsens scars" is actually quite vague. It may be a general assumption stemming from the general notion that UV light is bad for the skin, as it lacks specifics on what amount causes worsening.

There is insufficient evidence to suggest that the amount of sunlight received in daily life makes keloids worse. While it is true, from a textbook perspective, that excessive stimulation is not good, there is no need to overly worry about everyday exposure.

If you ask AI what to do about keloids, it might respond that surgical recurrence risk is high and generally not recommended, or that some may shrink or stabilize over time. Such statements are not "wrong" but also not the "correct answer."

The statement that surgery carries a risk of recurrence is true. However, it would be problematic to delay treatment for keloids based solely on that one sentence, considering them dangerous. Good results can be achieved depending on the experience of the treating physician. The expression "some may shrink" is similar. While it's not wrong to state a possibility, in reality, it is much more common for them not to shrink but to grow larger.

When keloids are small, they are merely a cosmetic issue, but as they grow, they can cause pain and pull on the surrounding skin, leading to greater problems. Therefore, an aggressive approach of early treatment is recommended if possible.

Article by Dr. Lee Sang-joo, Chief Director (Yonsei Star Dermatology) · Medical Staff Introduction · Last reviewed 2026-06-04