A rare presentation of penile keloids after traditional circumcision: Case report

INTRODUCTION: Only few cases of penile keloids have been reported in the literature. There have been no published reports on penile keloids following traditional circumcision in Africa. CASE REPORT: We present a case of a 13-year-old boy with penile keloids following traditional circumcision. The patient was successfully treated with complete excision of the keloid followed by a course of adjuvant treatment with corticosteroid injection. DISCUSSION: Penile keloids are a rare complication despite penile surgery being common. Male circumcision is a standard operation performed worldwide for medical, religious as well as cultural reasons. Traditional circumcision continues to be practised in many African countries. Keloids are a benign hyperproliferative growth of scar tissue that can complicate wound healing. Successful treatment is classically multimodal. CONCLUSION: This case highlights one of the more serious complications of circumcision. Although penile keloids are rare, the techniques involved in traditional circumcision potentially predispose to keloid formation in a genetically prone population.