scar in children

My 15 months old child has a scar on her forehead because of 3 stitches she had. It seems that the scar is getting wider since the day the stitches removed. The stiches were remove dabout 3 and a half day after she got them. I wondering if that is the cause of they are getting wider? Because the stiches should have been removed after 5 days and I miscalculated and I asked a nurse to remove it at 3 and a half day. A family doctor gave me a silicon gel (Dermatix) and asked me to apply once daily during six months. I would like to know if the dose is correct because I read in the brochure, it should be twice daily. Please help me..

[Howard Rosenberg, MD]

The real problem with removal of sutures too early is re-opening of the wound.  If this did not occur, then the widened scar may be a result of the injury itself and unrelated to the timing of suture removal.  The reality is that application of once or twice daily silicone gel will probably have little effect on the nature of the scar.  The appearance of the scar is more dependent on the nature of the injury (sharp or blunt), the way the wound was handled at the time of injury (were the edges of the wound debrided in a blunt injury) and the genetics of your child.  Time will tell how the wound will ultimately fare and there is always the option of scar revision.