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Let's say a toddler has a 4-inches scar running from his eye to his mouth. Will the scar be stretched that when he reached adulthood his scar still runs from his eye to his mouth?

I remember reading it somewhere that scar doesn't grow along with the body so the size will still be the same. I've been looking around but couldn't find the source.

EDIT:

After checking my search history these are my keywords (scar, size, growth, skin, child).

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What you remember reading is correct. Scars don't generally stretch or grow with the body, however there are occasions when this can occur for a while.

Stretched, or widened, scars occur when healing wounds are exposed to mechanical stress. They can be the result of the wound physically coming apart - dehiscence - and then healing by secondary intention, or from the early scar deforming in response to the extrinsic forces. Most stretching occurs in the first three months after surgery but the process can continue for up to a year.

There is no age, gender or racial predisposition. However, a stretched scar is more likely when the skin is inherently weak during repair. This can occur with collagen diseases such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, progeria, and with dermal atrophy eg with advanced age or chronic sun exposure. The most significant pathogenetic factor is the inherent tension within the skin. (GP Notebook, nd).

The page also goes into how to treat stretching/stretched scars.

References

GP Notebook. (n.d.). Scar (Stretched). Retreived from: https://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=x20110411224140089586

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  • Quoting the page, "Incised wounds which are perpendicular to the RSTL's are more likely to be exposed to tension and to stretch.". So if the scar is perpendicular to the tension line, there is a chance for it to grow in size. Not because of body growth but because of skin tension/stretching by outside forces (e.g. body movement). Is that right?
    – AceVez
    Commented Sep 19, 2019 at 15:34
  • That is correct @AceVez. As I quoted, it is "mechanical stress" which stretches the scar. Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 9:05

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