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Original poster

Dimple caused by cheek injury

93 replies

armarni · 23/05/2009 19:09

Hi everyone, about 4 weeks ago my 17 month old DD had a nasty tumble and her cheek hit the corner of our coffee table creating a very large bruise. She seemed fine after a few minutes of crying so I didnt think anything of it. Yet as the bruising has subsided Ive noticed that a hard lump has appreared under the skin at the point of impact and this has caused her to have a one sided dimple when she smiles as the skin is now contorted around this lump. I hate to think that her face is disfigured for life now. Can anyone else whose been through this post up any advice please. I've googled the issue and I'm not the only person who this has happened to, but nobody seems to give a definitive answer as to wether the lump is permenant scar tissue under the skin or if it will go with time.

TIA

OP posts:
Thread gallery
19
Katia17 · 23/06/2019 02:24

Here I found a coupe of front smile shots from 4 and 1 months ago.

Dimple caused by cheek injury
Momsthebomb · 23/06/2019 05:57

Thank you for the update Katia. I’m going through this now. My son 4yrs old has a marble size hard lump on his cheek due to the injury. I’m massaging and icing it. It’s been 2weeks. It’s not easy to get him to stay still long enough to let me massage and ice it. Hope it dissolves soon!

ChooseYourBattles · 18/07/2019 18:32

Katia, do you remember how long it took the hard hematoma lump to go away? Dealing with this also and it’s been over two months. Been told to give it time and hoping the lump at least resolves.

Maxy33 · 07/10/2019 18:06

Hi my little girl has same as your son she's only 2 when she fell hurt her face off the raised floor tiles at her swimming baths I got told by the nurse /practitioner there was nothing they can do. And I told her I wanted still to be referred to the right people to see what they say might have more on what she said

Speroblue · 09/12/2019 09:24

Hi there,
I realize this in an old thread...however, I was just wondering if anyone has gone to a plastic surgeon? Have they said there are any possibilities to remove or reduce the dimples to cheek resulting from the fall? How about laser treatment?
My daughter has a dimple as a result of a fall onto her cheek. One year later, it remains. The doctor says that as the fat tissue grows if will soften. But I see it getting more prominent as she looses her baby fat. She was two at the time of the fall. Although, I try not to stress about it and try to keep it in perspective, it does sadden me when I see the difference in her cheek.
Any medical updates in how to soften the dimple would be appreciated. (We have tried massaging and creams already.)

DumberthanDumb · 09/12/2019 12:07

Speroblue, I have PM'd you.

TheFuzzyStar · 12/12/2019 20:38

My son fell in a shop due to the floor being wet and got a huge egg on the side of his forehead. This was a couple of months ago now, but a small dimple is there now?!

Amandanicole86 · 05/02/2020 13:05

Hello, hope your child has now recovered from their injury. Was wondering if it has improved in time: I saw u posted 2017. My 2 year old son has very similar injury. It’s has been 9 months but he still has the dimple quite obvious on his cheek 😞 did u find out if plastic surgery is an option or any other remedies to help it improve?

My email addy is [email protected]

vesbasa · 16/02/2020 19:54

Hi, I see this is an old thread. My son had a similar accident for few months ago and he has a dimple just like your son. any news? anything you recommend?

Amandanicole86 · 16/02/2020 23:49

My sons daycare accident happened approx 9 months ago now however he now has a dimple that seems to be staying the same /possibly getting worse as his face is at starting to Grow and slim down. Have only just got a referral to see plastic surgeon for opinion however our oral surgeon seems there is likely nothing they can do unless he wants to do something when he is an adult. Seems like it will be permanent. There is certainly worse things in the world, but I still wish he didn’t have the indent as it was never oringainlly there. I’ll keep u updated. How is your son?

NikNad · 22/02/2020 19:29

My son fell of a kick bike in august 2017 and hit his face in the fall.
He got a small swelling on the right cheek. Couple of weeks later, the doctor was dismissive about the injury as long as the teeth were ok.
Today he has a dimple on that same spot and it doesn't seem to go away. It is especiellt visible when he smiles.
I guess the dimple is permanent. I don't want to remind him of it so that he starts thinking about it too much.
Still, it could have been worse if he got the handle from the kick bike in the eyes.
Just wanted to share my experience.

Babylamb2019 · 22/04/2020 00:23

Hello Kourtney Kardashian,

Did this fully resolve a traumatic dimple or did your child even get a dimple? Thanks

noatl1234 · 30/04/2020 00:20

Hi I am not sure at what age this can be done but you can get a scar revision performed by a plastic surgeon this is essentially removing the tethered down scar tissue from the muscle and or subcision done. Subcision is less invasive and uses a hollow needle to break up the scar tissue that is tethered down to the muscle. I’ve had a scar revision and two subscisions performed. When I was younger 8 or so I fell and hit my cheek this created a dimple in my cheek I’ve always disliked it and decided to go to a plastic surgeon at 20 to get a scar revision performed. This I would say improved the depression about 40%. Six months later I consulted a different surgeon who suggested subsicion with filler. The two subscions I’ve had since I’d say improved another 10%. I still have a dimple but it is not as depressed when I smile. I’d say overall about 50% improvement in depression and the actual scar/cut itself is pretty undetectable. I don’t think I’ll ever have my smile back to normal. Every plastic surgeon will tell you subcision might take several rounds for significant improvement and they like to include filler with the treatment to prevent the scar tissue from reforming. Again I’m not sure if this is something that a child would want to go through it is a treatment option.

rmayfish · 23/06/2020 23:54

If anyone has been in contact with plastic surgeons that have resolved this, please let me know

noatl1234 · 24/06/2020 03:14

I have. I am currently seeing one and she is doing three rounds of 5fu shots to soften the scar tissue then will perform a subcision. 5 fu is a Chemotherapeutic drug use for hypertrophic scars and keloids has also been used to treat recurrent and intractable scars. 5-fluorouracil is a fluorinated pyrimidine analog that acts as an anti-metabolic agent, inhibiting thymidylate synthase and interfering with RNA synthesis.

Gabchavira · 27/07/2020 08:48

Hi, my daughter had a cheek injury, she turned her head into a kitchen island.. this happened almost 10 months ago and her cheek now has a dimple in it. Has anyone had any luck in minimizing the appearance of it.

noatl1234 · 27/07/2020 18:15

I would consult with plastic surgeon

Lilimitch · 05/08/2020 06:23

Hi there do you by chance have before or after pictures of the procedure??

noatl1234 · 06/08/2020 18:06

Yes if you me your email I can send you them.

Lilimitch · 07/08/2020 05:58

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

Sayan · 05/06/2021 08:23

@noatl1234 my son has a scar and a dimple on his cheek from a fall which became 2 dimples and elongated scar after scar revision. Did the subcision help you?

noatl1234 · 05/06/2021 22:06

Yes the subcisions did help I had three done but it’s important to find a good surgeon I went to one who was horrible and finally found a good one. He placed filler after the procedure if they don’t do that the scar tissue will just reattach.

Commonrider · 18/01/2022 05:24

Hi all. Posting a positive outcome story here since stumbling upon this thread caused me extreme stress hopefully I can help others.

My 4 year old crashed into the one furniture that didn’t have padding on the corners of course and hit her cheek to the side of her smile lines. She cried for a few minutes and then seemed okay. A pretty obvious and large bruise with some minor swelling developed and was present for about 2-3 weeks. Once the swelling went down I was shocked to see a dimple that became very pronounced with face movements and even detracted her smile fold to alter her smile. There was a hard little lump under the dimple. I was quite devastated that she would have a permanent injury especially after reading this thread. It was very hurtful to see and I felt so bad for her. It didn’t really improve noticeably for the next month or two. Her pediatrician said it would likely get smaller over a course of a few months, and I found an an NIH study from the 80’s online that found that the vast majority of these traumatic dimples resolve on their own within a year, so I tried to stay patient and positive. Suddenly, around 3 months, it started to improve. Now close to 4 months, it is all but completely healed. Her smile is back to normal, the hard lump cannot be felt anymore or maybe just a tiny bit, and there is no apparent mark or dimple. Just a tiny bit of a dimple during some big smiles if I look really hard. It’s a complete non issue already. If you are reading this and are going through a similar situation, don’t worry it will get better!

DumberthanDumb · 18/01/2022 07:52

@Commonrider

Hi all. Posting a positive outcome story here since stumbling upon this thread caused me extreme stress hopefully I can help others.

My 4 year old crashed into the one furniture that didn’t have padding on the corners of course and hit her cheek to the side of her smile lines. She cried for a few minutes and then seemed okay. A pretty obvious and large bruise with some minor swelling developed and was present for about 2-3 weeks. Once the swelling went down I was shocked to see a dimple that became very pronounced with face movements and even detracted her smile fold to alter her smile. There was a hard little lump under the dimple. I was quite devastated that she would have a permanent injury especially after reading this thread. It was very hurtful to see and I felt so bad for her. It didn’t really improve noticeably for the next month or two. Her pediatrician said it would likely get smaller over a course of a few months, and I found an an NIH study from the 80’s online that found that the vast majority of these traumatic dimples resolve on their own within a year, so I tried to stay patient and positive. Suddenly, around 3 months, it started to improve. Now close to 4 months, it is all but completely healed. Her smile is back to normal, the hard lump cannot be felt anymore or maybe just a tiny bit, and there is no apparent mark or dimple. Just a tiny bit of a dimple during some big smiles if I look really hard. It’s a complete non issue already. If you are reading this and are going through a similar situation, don’t worry it will get better!

Not necessarily. My child's had theirs for over three years now, and it did not improve one bit. Great for those that did, but this is not so in every case, unfortunately.
knittingaddict · 18/01/2022 08:20

@MummyMellie

Hi Armarni, Have you thought of trying homeopathy? There is a wonderful company in based in London called Ainsworths, you call them and explain what has happened and they will make up a specific remedy and send it to you for the next day. Definately worth a try, has been the answer to all sorts of prob i have encountered with my little one!
Words fail me. Confused