Minimal scarring in a premature neonate

BACKGROUND: Scar formation and management is one of the major issues in plastic surgery. Scars are a chronic burden to patients, their families, and the wider healthcare system and while non-surgical and surgical options have been shown to reduce scarring and its impact, there are currently no therapeutic options to completely heal scars or to avoid scarring. Early gestation animals have been reported to heal skin wounds without scarring. CASE PRESENTATION: We report on a premature, underweight-for-age neonate of 30 weeks’ gestation that suffered a combination of deep partial thickness abrasions and full thickness wounds following birth trauma, who eventually healed with minimal skin scarring. CONCLUSION: This case highlights that more research is needed to understand the mechanism and timelines of foetal skin healing, so the knowledge can be used to develop better therapeutic options to treat skin scars in adults.