Myofibroblast Activity in an Animal Model for Human Hypertrophic Scar

Approximately 100,000 burn patients require hospital admissions each year in the United States. About 90% of those patients survive to face the long term consequences of burn injury [1]. The primary cause of long term disability in burn survivors is hypertrophic scarring. These thick, deforming scars physically impair movement and cause major psychological morbidity. Hypertrophic scarring is particularly severe in young children [2].