Subcutaneous Fat Necrosis of Newborn

A 40-day-old male child was brought in for consultation for multiple, ill-defined, erythematous, tender, indurated plaques on the back and shoulders for the past 15 days [Figure 1]. Hematological and biochemical investigations revealed no abnormalities. Histopathology showed paraseptal panniculitis with sparing of the center of lobules, dense aggregation of neutrophils, few eosinophils, histiocytes, and multinucleated foreign body giant cells. Fat cells retained their outline with fine eosinophilic cytoplasmic strands. Inflammatory cells extended into the lower and mid dermis [Figure 2a and b]. A diagnosis of subcutaneous fat necrosis of newborn was made. The patient was managed conservatively and kept under regular follow-up.Figure 1: Multiple, ill-defined, erythematous, tender, indurated plaques on the back and shouldersFigure 2: (a) Histopathology showing paraseptal panniculitis with sparing of the center of lobules, and inflammatory cells extending into the lower and mid dermis [H and E, ×50]. (b) Histopathology showing a dense aggregation of neutrophils, a few eosinophils, histiocytes, and multinucleated foreign body giant cells. Fat cells retain their outline, with fine eosinophilic cytoplasmic strands/needle-shaped crystals (yellow arrow) [H and E, ×100]Declaration of parent consent Informed written consent was taken from the parent. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest. Use of artificial intelligence (AI) The authors declare that they have not used any type of generative artificial intelligence for the writing of this manuscript, nor for the creation of images, graphics, tables, or their corresponding captions.