Overview
Raised scars and keloids can follow injury or surgery, and many treatments have been used with mixed success. The author reports his 9-year experience injecting 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) into inflamed hypertrophic scars, alone and with low-dose steroid plus pulsed dye laser. Results are shown through case reports.
Findings
- 9-year experience of one author, shown with case reports.
- 5-FU used at 50 mg/cc, and mixed with Kenalog (1 mg/cc), with pulsed dye laser at the same time.
- Frequent early injections (once to three times weekly) were more effective, then spaced out (weekly to monthly) as scars stabilized and resolved.
- The 5-FU and Kenalog mix appeared more effective and less painful than 5-FU alone.
- Adding pulsed dye laser at the same visits as the injections was most effective.
- The author concludes intralesional 5-FU appears effective and safe, and calls for further study.
- The abstract gives no patient numbers or measured scar outcomes.
What it means for a patient
- Any surgical incision, including a facelift incision, can form a raised, red scar. Injection treatment is one option.
- In this author's experience, early frequent injections, then less frequent ones, worked better than infrequent treatment.
- A mix of 5-FU with a small dose of steroid, along with laser, was the most effective approach he used.
- This is one physician's experience with case reports, not a controlled trial. The author states more study is needed.
Why this paper matters
It reported 5-FU injection, alone and combined with low-dose steroid and pulsed dye laser, as a treatment for inflamed hypertrophic scars. It describes a dosing schedule from frequent to monthly injections. Cited 253 times (NIH iCite, 2026-09-25).
Terms
- Hypertrophic scar: a raised scar that stays within the edges of the original wound.
- Keloid: a raised scar that grows beyond the edges of the original wound.
- 5-fluorouracil (5-FU): a drug that slows cell growth, used here to reduce scar tissue.
- Intralesional: injected directly into the scar.
- Kenalog (triamcinolone): a corticosteroid used to flatten scars.
- Pulsed dye laser: a laser that targets blood vessels, used to reduce scar redness.
- Corticosteroid: a drug that reduces inflammation.