Keloid scar after knee replacement: what to know

A keloid is an overgrown scar that extends beyond the incision and may feel firm, itchy, tight, or tender. A thickened scar can stay within the surgical line. The knee's movement and repeated stretching can make tightness more noticeable, but a scar alone does not show whether the joint replacement is affected.

Your orthopaedic or dermatology clinician can examine the incision, compare its borders with the original wound, and ask when the change began. Do not press, shave, or massage a painful or unhealed area without guidance.

Keep the incision clean and follow the surgical team's dressing and activity instructions. Once the skin is fully closed, a clinician may consider silicone, steroid injection into the skin, laser treatment, freezing treatment, or a carefully planned excision. Surgery for a keloid can itself create new scar tissue, so prevention and follow-up are part of the discussion.

Tell the clinician if the scar limits knee bending, catches on clothing, or causes sleep-disrupting itch. Treatment must protect the healing incision and preserve comfortable movement.

Contact the surgical team promptly for increasing pain, spreading redness, warmth, drainage, fever, wound separation, or a sudden change around the incision. These signs need wound assessment and should not be attributed to a keloid without examination.

Ask whether the scar is fully healed, whether it is affecting movement, which treatments are safe near the prosthesis, and how scar care will fit with your rehabilitation plan. Share any history of keloids after earlier operations.