Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn complicating hypothermic cardiac surgery

A newborn male infant developed subcutaneous fat necrosis (SCFN) with extensive calcification, 1 week after hypothermic cardiac surgery. The lesions resolved spontaneously, without sequelae, within 10 weeks. Five cases of SCFN occurring after induced hypothermia, used as an adjuvant in cardiac surgery, have been reported to date in the English literature. Our description of a sixth case re-emphasizes hypothermia as one possible cause of SCFN of the newborn.