Meet Keloid Specialist, Dr. Michael Tirgan

New York has hundreds of dermatologists and plastic surgeons who among everything else, also treat keloids. But, Dr. Tirgan is the only physician in North America whose medical practice and research is dedicated solely to the treatment of keloid patients. For the past several years, Dr. Tirgan has provided medical care and keloid treatment to over 1,600 keloid patients, many of whom traveled to New York from far away places.

As a leader in clinical keloid research and cryotherapy for keloids, Dr. Tirgan is challenging standard approaches to many types of keloids. He has introduced treatments that not only achieve excellent results, but most importantly, do not cause harm, and do not put patients at risk of worsening of their keloids. If you suffer from keloid - if your keloids have gotten worse despite treatments or after surgery - or if your doctor cannot think of an effective treatment for you - you need to know that there is hope, and there is someone here who has helped many other keloid sufferers like you.

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Letter from a patient's family to Dr. Tirgan

Dear Dr. Tirgan,

We first came to see you in July of 2014 to have our son Sam’s ear treated for a keloid. After all, he had been through with that ear I have to say I didn’t share your confidence that it would finally stop growing and even be reduced to almost gone….. really all there is is a bit of scarring – almost like a burn. Amazing compared to what it was prior to treatment. January 2015 was his third and final treatment which means it has been stable for 2+ years! We are so grateful and see the whole process as an answer to many prayers. We thank you for the service that you have provided to our son! He graduates from High School in just a few more months! I will send pictures soon for your records. (of his ear, not graduation)

Sincerely,
Karmen, Terry & Sam
(April 2017)

Why non-surgical methods?

When a healthy person receives some sort of injury to the skin, such as an incision from surgery, or piercing, their skin goes through a rather predictable healing cycle. The skin fuses back together, some scar tissue forms and, through a very complex negative feedback system, the body arrests the healing process once it’s complete.

In a keloid disorder, the negative feedback loop that informs the body that it’s time to stop the healing process doesn’t function as it should and results in an uninhibited, excessive and prolonged wound healing response; as if the brakes on the wound healing process were malfunctioning. The result is an excessive and perpetual healing response and keloid formation. Now, if we operate on a keloid and cut it out surgically, the same abnormal wound healing mechanisms are triggered, leading to the formation of a new, yet much larger keloid. Cryotherapy, on the other hand, does not induce a cut in the skin. The underlying tissue remains intact and the wound healing response does not lead to keloid formation.

Keloid Treatment Secrets

Keloid Treatment Secrets is an easy-to-read book for anyone who is dealing with keloid disorder. In this book, Dr. Michael H. Tirgan discusses various aspects of this skin condition and provides the reader with an in-depth understanding of this condition. The reader will learn about simple treatment choices, how keloids should be treated, and most importantly about the treatments that are harmful and should be avoided. If you are diagnosed with keloid or have been dealing with it for a long time, this book may help you to better understand your condition. It also arms you with the knowledge you need to make correct treatment choices.

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Clinical Practice Guidelines for Treatment of Keloids

THIS GUIDELINE publication is a compilation of recommendations for treatment of patients with common clinical presentations of keloid disorder. As you will notice throughout this volume, not all keloid patients present in a similar manner. Every patient presents with a unique problem. Therefore, the treatment for each keloid lesion should be customized for each patient. Obviously, the first instinct in a young person who develops a keloid lesion is to have that lesion surgically removed. As documented in each Guideline, rushing into surgery will often result in worsening of the keloids - simply because keloid disorder is a progressive and multifocal disorder of the skin. Our better understanding of basic facts about this chronic genetic ailment will guide us to more effective treatment choices.

All the Guidelines documents are available on the website of Keloid Research Foundation .