A keloid is an abnormal proliferation of scar tissue that forms at the site of cutaneous injury (eg, on the site of a surgical incision or trauma); it does not regress and grows beyond the original margins of the scar. Keloids should not be confused with hypertrophic scars, which are raised scars that do not grow beyond the boundaries of the original wound and may reduce over time. [1] See the image below.

keloids are benign dermal fibroproliferative tumors with no malignant potential. The first description of abnormal scar formation in the form of keloids was recorded in the Smith papyrus regarding surgical techniques in Egypt around 1700 BC. [2] The term keloid, meaning "crab claw," was first coined by Alibert in 1806, in an attempt to illustrate the way the lesions expand laterally from the original scar into normal tissue. [3] Since that time, physicians have attempted to characterize normal scars, hypertrophic scars, and keloids.