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

[snowythesnow]

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.

DS 12 fell over when he was 3 and had a bump that looked like a horn, the blood was pouring out. Luckily it was right next to the drs so we popped in and they steri stripped it, basically said kids injuries mostly look worse than they are. He was fine, has a scar to this day but don’t we all. His injury looked worse than your DS, I’m sure he will be fine, just keep an eye out on him.

Looks ok to me. That’s the best they can do with that type of injury. It’ll probably be a nasty scar though. My DS had a similar injury and is scarred for life.

Its really not the best they can do or an ideal closure. But it will be fine OP, it will heal. Its a small wound, at worst it will be a small scar, its in line with his brow so not a particularly noticeable place and will most likely fade with time. At worst hes just going to have a small scar below his brow, which isnt something to worry about.

@bluebellscorner

looks like my son's eyebrow did after a very similar accident a few years ago. I think this is what it looks like no matter how careful and skilled they are at closing it, there will be some swelling and oozing etc.

Sadly we have some experience in this area. We have had several cuts to the forehead in the family, DD had to go under general to have it stitched up (vertical cut, the plastic surgeon did a great job but there is still a scar 7 years on), and other DD and DS both had butterfly stitches. The healing process was more or less similar in all cases. Keep using the steristrips, we were told to keep reapplying them for 6 months. It also helps protect from the sun in the summer. We were also recommended Neals Yard reship oil once the wound has closed.

Good luck!

SIX MONTHS of steristrips? What’s the point?! The wound has healed well before then!

I’m not an expert, I think the strips look a bit long. But as others have said, just wait until the strips naturally fall off as it’s not worth reopening the wound now to replace.

With the potential scar, like others said, the nurse wouldn’t have been able to reduce it completely regardless of what she did. Scars are part of the wound healing process, and A&E is focused on medical need rather than cosmetics. Even if the application could have been neater, she wasn’t negligent.

Even if he does get a scar, his eyebrow hair will probably cover it when he’s older as they’ll get more bushy. He’s so young that I doubt the scar would be even be visible by then.

He's a boy, it'll be a take about wrangling with a bear before you know it.

It doesn't look great, but I really don't think you can tell at this stage how it'll end up
& any scare is likely to be overshadowed by his eyebrow when he's older.

Try not to worry.

He was fine, has a scar to this day but don’t we all
Thank you, and to the person who said a scar isn't the end of the world. The people talking about an unsightly scar and being scarred for life need to realise how hurtful that can be for those of us who have scars (and in some cases have had some of them them virtually all our lives). My scars aren't a bad thing, I'm not "scarred for life" and I'm not unsightly. Comments suggesting scars are a horrendous thing to have can cause people to feel pretty shit about themselves.

It looks to me like the wound is gaping . The edges of it should be together . Otherwise it will take longer to heal and leave more of a scar ( I’m a nurse and have experience of suturing wounds )

Looks fine. The swelling makes wounds look worse and that will start to go down over a couple of days. I am an anaesthetist and am frankly amazed at some of the tiny wounds we end up anaesthetising children to suture - it is a risk vs benefit scenario not matter how safe having a GA is!

@RichardMarxisinnocent I love the quote that "scars are tattoos with better stories"
I deliberately didn't have my back one tattooed over, it's got a giant tattoo next to it. Partially because it felt like erasing it which I didn't want to do, and also if I need another surgery, they're not ruining my tattoo!

[quote QueenPawPaws]@RichardMarxisinnocent I love the quote that "scars are tattoos with better stories"
I deliberately didn't have my back one tattooed over, it's got a giant tattoo next to it. Partially because it felt like erasing it which I didn't want to do, and also if I need another surgery, they're not ruining my tattoo![/quote]
Not heard that quite before, but I like it!