ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Care
Comprehensive Nursing Intervention for Postoperative Scar Management in Preschool Children with Congenital Melanocytic Nevus
Provisionally accepted
- Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
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ABSTRACT Background: Surgical excision of congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) in preschool children is essential for minimizing oncogenic risk and improving cosmetic outcomes. However, such procedures often lead to hypertrophic scarring, which can negatively impact physical appearance and psychological well-being during critical developmental stages. Traditional postoperative care tends to overlook the psychosocial dimension, underscoring the need for holistic interventions. Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a comprehensive nursing intervention comprising scar massage therapy, silicone gel sheet application, and structured psychological counseling on enhancing postoperative recovery in preschool children undergoing CMN excision. Outcomes evaluated included scar quality, wound healing time, psychological well-being, complication rates, and parental satisfaction. Methods: In this prospective observational cohort study, preschool children undergoing CMN excision received either a comprehensive nursing care pathway or usual postoperative care, as implemented in routine practice. Outcomes (VSS, PedsQL, healing time, complications, and parental satisfaction) were assessed at baseline and 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks. Between-cohort differences were analyzed with appropriate tests and multivariable adjustment for baseline covariates. Results: The comprehensive care group were significantly higher VSS scores (3.2 ± 0.7 vs. 5.5 ± 0.8, p < 0.05), shorter healing time (3.5 ± 0.6 vs. 5.2 ± 0.7 weeks), higher PedsQL scores (80.5 ± 4.2 vs. 72.3 ± 3.8), lower complication rates (5.0% vs. 8.0%), and higher parental satisfaction (90% vs. 70%). Conclusions: A multidimensional nursing intervention appears to improve both physical and psychological postoperative outcomes in pediatric CMN patients. Integrating scar management with emotional support represents a best-practice approach for optimizing recovery and quality of life.
Keywords: Congenital melanocytic nevus, scar management, Pediatric Surgery, Nursing intervention, psychological support, Wound Healing
Received: 01 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fan, Qiao, Sun, Zhang and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shuping Wu, shuping_wu503574418@outlook.com
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