title: Unexplained facial scar: child abuse or ehlers-danlos syndrome?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Child abuse is a serious problem, and its physical manifestations can be mimicked by certain diseases and conditions. These conditions can include genetic, congenital and other disorders that may result in poor weight gain, bone fractures or skin lesions that look like bruises or burns.
  
  
  METHODS
  This paper reports the case of a seven-year-old girl with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which was misdiagnosed as child abuse. This child was referred to us for treatment of an unexplained facial scar that was alleged to be the result of child abuse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When unusual skin presentations are observed, dermatologists should consider the possibility of child abuse to protect the child. Furthermore, they should be aware of the cutaneous abnormalities that mimic injuries associated with abuse to avoid the unnecessary reporting of child abuse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Medicine Students' Research Committee, Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Bahareh
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abtahi-Naeini
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric, Qom University of Medical Science, Qom, Iran.
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shapouri
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, School of Pharmacy, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masjedi
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Students' Research Committee, School of Pharmacy, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saffaei
authors.affiliation: Students' Research Committee, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pourazizi
keywords: Child abuse; Ehlers-danlos syndrome; Facial scar