Scars After Central Venous Catheters

Most children with cancer need a central venous catheter. These catheters are typically placed on the anterior thorax, where the risk of hypertrophic scarring and keloid development is greatly enhanced. A significant part of the children who have survived childhood cancer are troubled by their scars. Topical glucocorticoid treatment is known to induce a reduction of the collagen in the connective tissue. The investigators hypothesize that treatment with topical glucocorticoids for one week before and three weeks after removal of a central venous catheter, will reduce the formation of hypertrophic scarring and keloid development in children.