Subcutaneous fat necrosis in newborns

We all know that newborn babies are our parents' treasures and the apple of our eyes. Neonatal subcutaneous fat necrosis is a benign lesion that occurs in newborns or early infants. It is characterized by the appearance of painless nodules and plaques in subcutaneous fat tissue, which can disappear on their own and has a good prognosis. Some children have a history of difficult labor, birth trauma, or asphyxia, which is related to hypoxia and cold. Let’s take a look together below.

The cause of the disease is still unclear. Some children have a history of dystocia, birth trauma, or asphyxia, which is related to hypoxia and cold. It is not clear whether their mothers' diabetes is related to the occurrence of the disease.

2 Clinical manifestations

In the early stages of skin lesions, there are bright red or purple nodules deep under the skin, which may be single or multiple, round or oval in shape, ranging from the size of a soybean to the size of an egg, and are scattered. Later they may merge into plaques with clear boundaries. Sometimes the edges are slightly raised and there is no depression when pressed. There are usually no subjective symptoms and no systemic symptoms. Around the full moon, the nodules and plaques begin to soften and absorb, and completely disappear after a few months, generally without rupturing in the process. It is common in healthy infants born at full term, with onset within 1 to 6 weeks. It is more common in the buttocks, thighs, cheeks, trunk, etc., and sometimes the upper limbs and vulva may also be affected.

3 Diagnosis

According to the clinical manifestations, the patient is a newborn. The initial skin lesions are bright red or purple-red nodules deep under the skin, which are localized, single or multiple, round or oval, and can be as big as a soybean or as big as an egg, and are scattered. The diagnosis can be confirmed by combining tissue pathology.

4 Differential diagnosis

Be careful to differentiate it from diaper rash and scleroderma. The skin of diaper rash is red but not swollen, while the skin of scleroderma is swollen but not red. Both have no systemic symptoms of infection.

5 Complications

Skin necrosis occurs due to thrombosis in the blood vessels of the skin and subcutaneous tissues.

6 Treatment

Generally no treatment is required and it can be absorbed and resolved on its own.

7 Prognosis

The healthy growth and development of the child is not affected and the prognosis is good. Occasionally, patients with complications or visceral involvement have a poor prognosis.

Well, the above is our basic introduction to the causes of subcutaneous fat necrosis of neonates. We also know that this introduction is our own introduction to the causes of subcutaneous fat necrosis of neonates. Of course, what we need to know and our clinical manifestations of subcutaneous fat necrosis of neonates are complementary. This is what we need to pay attention to.