Fraternal keloid

This report concerns the cases of three European caucasian brothers who developed keloid scars as teenagers. The eldest brother’s keloid followed surgery, the second brother’s followed ear piercing and the youngest brother’s followed chicken pox scarring. No other member of any generation of their family is known to have suffered from the condition. Such a family as this, with an inherited tendency to form keloids, provides an interesting source of material for genetic research. An understanding of the genetics of keloids, particularly the isolation of a specific gene or group of genes could prove a major advance in the understanding and subsequently in the treatment of the condition.