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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Child injury *pic attached* - does this look well done?

87 replies

snowythesnow · 02/01/2021 18:26

3yo DS fell and hit his head on the side of a tv cabinet today and split open his eyebrow.
Took him to A&E as advised by 111 and he ended up having it glued and steristripped.

I can't help but think it doesn't look right. It might be me but it doesn't look like they closed it that well but I am well aware I am not a medical professional by any stretch.
He's completely fine and was for the entire 3 hour wait too and is happily having some snacks in front of the TV at the moment so I'm not concerned it's bothering him but I'm just a bit worried it won't heal well and leave a bigger scar than necessary.

Can I please get a second opinion or maybe anyone with a bit more medical knowledge than me reassure me it's fine?
It might just be my brain being a bit precious about my child so please don't be harsh.

OP posts:
ThirtyTwo1988 · 02/01/2021 19:42

Is it a tidy job? No.
Will it do the job? Yes.

musketeersmama · 02/01/2021 19:43

Also the glue leaves much less of a scar than stitches!

ralphi · 02/01/2021 19:48

you can get some anti scar gel from Boots if you are still concerned when the swelling goes down. Works well.

RosesAndHellebores · 02/01/2021 19:50

Shame they didn't communicate sufficiently to explain and reassure you.

pyjamarama · 02/01/2021 19:52

@musketeersmama

Also the glue leaves much less of a scar than stitches!
Not true
Veterinari · 02/01/2021 19:52

The steristrips aren't brilliantly applied, but if tissue glue has been put in the wound and dried in that position, you won't now be able to appose the wound edges more closely, so there's no point going back

I would have applied the strips from below the wound and pulled the tissue up and the wound edges together. But then I only deal with 4-legged critters, and humans are a different beast entirely so 🤷‍♀️

Children heal well though so regardless I wouldn't worry

Sway19 · 02/01/2021 19:53

Nurse here - no it doesn’t look right. He’s going to be left with a nasty scar

Sway19 · 02/01/2021 19:53

@musketeersmama

Also the glue leaves much less of a scar than stitches!
This isn’t true
EarringsandLipstick · 02/01/2021 19:57

I don't think it looks great. Ofc it will heal, but it will leave an unsightly scar. I'm not sure what can be done now, but I would ask for a review

You say it was a nurse that did it? That surprises me. I'm in Ireland, and with one of my sons in particular, have had many trips to A&E with similar injuries. It would always be ultimately be dealt with by a doctor, or an Advanced Nurse Practitioner at least.

One time my son had a similar injury, I didn't take him to A&E or a GP. I just used steri strips myself. Bad call. It healed with a noticeable scar, whereas other more serious injuries that had stitches / glue healed much better. Really regret not doing more at the time.

I'd definitely seek a review.

AnaisNun · 02/01/2021 19:59

Just to go against the grain- DS had exactly this injury on the first day of lockdown in spring.
Rang 111 as wasn’t sure what to do as we were in total lockdown and I couldn’t really tell how bad it was- and as it had stopped bleeding by the time we spoke (stopped with applied pressure after 15 mins) they said to just keep an eye on him at home.
Am now a bit Shock as maybe should’ve been glued or at least looked at... anyway... it’s healed totally totally fine. Slight scar, only visible up close- and that was with neither stitches nor glue

EarringsandLipstick · 02/01/2021 19:59

Also the glue leaves much less of a scar than stitches!
This isn’t true

👆this - I agree. Stitches are v effective & won't scar (or minimally) if appropriately done.

FlyingPandas · 02/01/2021 20:02

Hmm. Not a medical professional AT ALL so just based on personal experience of having accident prone DC (!!) but glueing and stripping leaves a much messier eyebrow scar from what I have seen.

My older two DC have both had injuries to eyebrows and the way they were treated has made a major difference to how they have subsequently healed.

DS1 had a nasty tree climbing accident at 7 (much much more major than your DS's to be fair, he was bluelighted to A&E, had air ambulance on standby, CT scan due to repeated vomiting etc etc) and once the CT scan had come back clear, the doctor in A&E told the nurse to "glue and strip" the wound. The nurse then said to me that she could do that, and it would heal absolutely fine, but it wouldn't necessarily heal tidily or attractively because glue and strips will never do the job of stitches in closing a wound neatly. But obviously it is far less painful and traumatic for DC which is why they tend to opt for this.

However, DS1's injury was quite major, and the scar would have been large.

He ended up being referred to the maxillofacial team to have the wound cleaned/stitched under GA. It took a good few months to heal but the stitching brought the wound together beautifully and it is a really tidy job.

DS2, on the other hand, had a much more minor accident at 2 where he sustained a small but deep cut to an eyebrow that was glued and stripped. The scar is small but has healed nowhere near as well and is quite wide and messy. It's not a major issue but when I look at it, I am so, so grateful to the lovely A&E nurse who pushed the doctor for DS1's referral. In his case, the facial wound would have looked awful if she had just glued and stripped it.

Your DS's wound doesn't look too bad OP and certainly doesn't warrant a return to A&E but I would be tempted to message your GP surgery to see if you can get a practice nurse appointment to have a look at it. Even reassessing and reglueing/restripping once the bruising has settled a little might help a neater healing.

Mrsmadevans · 02/01/2021 20:08

lt looks a very clean wound but l think it will leave a scar. If you have any doubts at all, l am sure if you took him back the team will be more than happy to check it again for you. Good Luck op hope everything turns out ok for you and your Ds.

HeelsHandbagPerfumeCoffee · 02/01/2021 20:17

It’s a clean dry wound,not inflamed. Looks ok.
Regard stitches, if properly done there will be minimal scarring. Glue doesn’t necessarily result in less scarring
Understandably you’re worried but doesn’t require a repeat trip to A&E

Hope you and your son are ok
Children are resilient, you’ll be more anxious than him

snowythesnow · 02/01/2021 20:25

I see there's mixed opinions.

The doctor did say it will scar either way due to where it is which is fine but It would be good to know they tried to make it as minimal as possible. I can't say the nurse who did it looked like she was 100% confident in what she was doing and the other nurse who held him down was doing quite a bit of supervising which doesn't fill me with major confidence.
But then again I wouldn't want to drag him all over the place especially since we're in tricky times, I'm just a bit concerned it doesn't look all that much better than before it was treated.

OP posts:
Zilla1 · 02/01/2021 20:26

Location is tricky and I'm surprised at some PPs opinion without them understanding the wound prior to closing. I don't mean to sound complacent of sexist but anecdotally, all except one male friends rejoice in their visible scars though I don't know any professional male models. If you are concerned, call your GP and speak to a PN though don't be surprised if they want to leave it alone.

HelloDaisy · 02/01/2021 20:26

My dd did exactly the same thing at that age and it looked identical after trip to a&e! She is now 14 and it’s hardly noticeable as they grow so much from toddler to teenager but the scar doesn’t grow too.

You could buy some steri strips from boots and see if you can tighten it, not sure if that is possible from looking at a photo, but otherwise I wouldn’t worry. It doesn’t bother dd at all and actually the nurse told us that by the time dd grows up the only people who will notice the scar will be us parents!

Zilla1 · 02/01/2021 20:27

What did they advise concerning infection, OP?

Eggsley · 02/01/2021 20:35

My DS's cut looked really red and angry for a couple of weeks after being glued back together and I was worried that the scar would pucker but you can hardly see it now and it's really neat.

notyourmummy · 02/01/2021 20:43

ED consultant here says looks all good... use of both glue and strips probably not necessary but it'll heal nicely (or as nicely as these things ever do)

DishedUp · 02/01/2021 20:48

Personally I do not like glue on the face. It scars and is more of an infection risk than stitches.

However Itll be absolutely fine as is. It will heal fine however I would expect a scar. With time the scar will probably fade. I would make sure you are massaging the wound with vitamin E moisturiser or any moisturiser really once it has closed, and make sure you put sun protection on if he goes outside. This can help prevent scar formation.

It is not a particular difficult location to stitch but on a small child might not be possible under local, I wouldnt want someone wriggling while Im stitching near their eye for example. And you would need to clean the glue out

I think now its done I would just leave it to heal, taking steps to avoid scar formation as above. It will be okay

makingitupaswegoon · 02/01/2021 20:48

My first thought was that the steristrips looked a bit too long and it wasn't a neat job, not sure if you have any options now though

ChristmasFluff · 02/01/2021 20:50

Honestly, I think it's fine. I'm a physio, not a nurse, but my son's glued brow looked very similar but bigger, and his one end came unglued, but it wasn't ever infected, so we just left it.

He's quite proud of his 'scar' now, even though it's smaller than my eyebrow chicken pox scar! I really doubt this will scar too badly eventually - son was 12 when he did his, he is 19 now. Children heal really well

Keep an eye out for any infection is the main thing. The wound shouldn't weep.

Hippopotas · 02/01/2021 20:51

Looks good to me

LeroyJenkinssss · 02/01/2021 20:52

These things will always scar and even plastics can only do scar minimisation not elimination. Also at this stage without reopening it there isn’t much that can be done. Don’t ring the practice nurse in a week as there is literally nothing she can do. Whilst it looks big now over time it’ll get smaller in proportion to him.

My son split his chin open on holiday and I steristripped it myself (and treating wounds is literally my job) and you can still see his scar. I’m the only one who notices it. Best thing is not make a big deal about it.

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