When my daughter was 2 years old, she fell down and hit her cheek with the corner of a stair, and had an open wound. We rushed to the hospital and the "surgeon" who made the stitches didn't stitch her skin on the inside, just outside. We didn't know this was the right technique for stitches in the face..but it was late when we found out..and now a year and half later I see her scar getting wider, and looks like there were no stitches at all..I am afraid with time it can get wider... What do you recommend me to do? It makes me feel very sad and I cry a lot (maybe is the baby blues I just had my 2nd baby) Thanks
Let it be. When she is grown, and it bothers her she can then do something. Please do not even discuss this as she gets older because you will send messages that only a perfect face is acceptable.
Mederma is great. Vitamin e oil also works well.
Be sure to put sunscreen on it EVERY day. NEVER skip a day without sunscreen on her face. ( yours too)
Please don't make her feel self conscious about it. If she approaches you when she's older, then consider speaking with a plastic surgeon.
For now, treat it like you treat daily bath time, etc and again, please don't draw attention to it and give her a low self esteem.
I'd have a dermatologist or plastic surgeon look at it to see what is normal and what, if anything, can be done. One of my brothers sliced his face open on a nasty thorn when he was 3. Although the wound wasn't stitched, it was a rather long gash running down his cheek, with a wide, deep scar after it healed. My mom put vitamin E on it every day for several months. She would pop open a capsule and squeeze the oil onto the scar. After a few months, the scar completely disappeared. 30+ years later, there is no evidence of the wound. There's no downside to trying the vitamin E oil - it's inexpensive, widely available, and safe. Give it a try and get a consult with a skin expert to see if there is anything else they can do that's more effective.
Mederma, three times a day, for several months, religiously... If she's self conscious about it years down the road, then you look into a scar revision.
well, the first and most obvious thing to do is to take her to a dermatologist and get a professional opinion. likely it will fade completely over time. it may be that cosmetic surgery is an option, but i myself would leave that until she's a teenager and asks for it.
please stop crying over it. you're going to give her an unnecessary complex. it's probably just the baby blues, but you need to make sure you're not letting your daughter see you all weepy over this.
khairete
S.
I'd want to have a plastic surgeon look at her. Marda mentions a ped dermatologist - these two types of doctors work with each other, and I think you could get some good advice from the ped dermatologist about finding a plastic surgeon who does good work on children.
I would take hER to a pediatric dermatologist an ask what could be done.
Don't do anything about it now. You're hormonal (congrats on the baby!) but your daughter is only 3.5 and there's so much that can happen.
My son cut his cheek - going down a slide with a piece of metal in his hand. Ugh. He cut an L-shaped cut in his face. We went to the doctor and saw a plastic surgeon, and they felt it couldn't even be stitched. Like you, I was panicked about my kid's beautiful face. We left it alone and by middle school there was nothing there. So there's plenty of time for you.
I'd wait until your new baby is at least 6 months old and you've had some sleep. The next time you're at the pediatrician (for either kid), have them measure the length and width of the current scar - it takes 2 seconds an they will use a very finely calibrated ruler so you will have a precise number. That will give you a baseline to determine if it's getting wider later on - don't trust your eyes on this! Then I'd see a plastic surgeon and discuss what options there are. I really don't think there's any rush except for your own anxiety - so at least address that when you are in a better place to be able to focus! And take heart - maybe it will be nothing in time, as it was for us.
There's a good chance it will fade with time. My adult daughter has a big scar on her face from a car accident and she's absolutely gorgeous. It hasn't hindered her at all.
Stop crying about this, your daughter will be fine, unless you make her self-conscious about this scar. But scars at such a young age are usually practically invisible once people are grown.
Let it go. Scars are our badges of honor. Scars show that we've lived, and no body remains perfect once it's endured a life.
And yes, you can try Mederma.
