Response to tissue injury

Cutaneous injury, whether by laser, chemical, or scalpel, results in scar f ormation. The normal response to such an insult occurs in the middle of a c ontinuum of wound repair processes. On one end of the continuum are the ove rhealed responses (i.e., keloids). On the opposite end are tissue regenerat ion and scarless healing as seen in fetal wounds. This article reviews the molecular biology and mechanisms leading to these various clinical phenotyp es and discusses future potential modalities that may replicate the scarles s wound healing mechanism in adults.