A Preemie Child
Scars of the NICU

By: Allison Martin, MPA; Preemie-Child Listowner

Preemie-child is a email support listserv for parents of children who were born prematurely and are now 4 years or older. Children who are born very prematurely may continue to have disabilities and/or special needs which require attention as they enter school and society. The mailing list brings together this small (but growing) group of families for support as we learn from each other's experiences.

For information please write me, Allison Martin at: 5martin@bellsouth.net
or visit the preemie-child website at: http://www.comeunity.com/premature

Missing or unusual belly buttons, large scars across the back or stomach, smaller but still visible scars on the feet and neck, and more can be consequences of procedures performed on these small babies. In some cases scarring seems to recede over time. In other cases it becomes more prominent or stretches across large areas as children grow. A small scar on a baby may become be a rather large scar on an older child, depending upon the circumstances. Placement is one of the biggest factors in any concern over scarring when our children grow older. A scar on your child’s neck may be visible all the time. A scar on the belly or unusual bellybutton can create problems for swimming season, or with today’s fashions for girls when wearing a shirt. Parents may consider plastic surgery for their children as these grow older, especially for very obtrusive scarring.

Sometimes scarring can be very prominent, as Joan D. describes:

"Our son has the scars from cut downs after his cardiac arrest, on both wrists. It goes all the way across so he looks like a suicide survivor. Of course those are the first visible scars. Take off his shirt and you get the G-tube hole and fundo scar, his back has the SDR scar and now his legs will bear the scars from the adductor lengthening. Makes me glad we have an above ground pool away from prying eyes for summer time relief."

A very small event can have a large impact on a preemie’s fragile skin. Luckily some scars become less obtrusive over time, as Katy M. explains:

"Our daughter Emily had an spinal tap and they left the little round band-aid on a little too long. When the band aid came off, the area was raw. It looked like a doughnut, because the center section was okay. I was there when it was discovered. I was devastated and so was her primary nurse. At 680 grams, a little band-aid covers a good part of the back. Initially it healed quite quickly. As she grew, the scar grew with her. I still see it, but others don’t notice it too much anymore ~ it has faded with time..."

There are several side effects of scars that might not occur to people who do not live with this issue. One is rather light hearted - the appearance of cowlicks in our children’s hair lines. Some of the children on our support list have whorls of hair growth or absence of hair growth in areas where IV lines used to be. This can make for slightly unruly hair.

Variations in hair due these early experiences in the NICU are fairly common among preemies. Julie H. describes how her son’s hair is affected by a NICU procedure:

"My son has an ugly spot about a half inch round where an IV "went bad". At the time, it formed a blister. The nurses kept apologizing and I couldn’t figure out why. Now I know. He will forever have a raised scarred area where no hair will ever grow. It’s right on the part line opposite the huge scar and indentation from where the temporary reservoir was placed before the permanent shunt was installed. No matter where I part his hair, one of these scars shows."