Sclerema is one of those conditions that leaves even seasoned neonatologists with a quiet heaviness. You see a baby whose skin — instead of the usual softness and warmth of early life — becomes pale, waxy, and almost marble-like. It is not inflammation; it is a chilling stillness of the subcutaneous fat. What it is A diffuse hardening of the skin and subcutaneous tissue in critically ill, often premature neonates. Unlike subcutaneous fat necrosis, sclerema has no nodules , no erythema, and no...

There is a moment every paediatric surgeon recognises—when the theatre lights dim just enough for the drapes to glow, the monitors settle into their quiet rhythm, and a child sleeps under anaesthesia with a trust so absolute it almost feels sacred. We enter the operating room to learn anatomy, technique, and judgement. But the lessons that stay with us—the ones that shape who we become—are rarely written in any curriculum. They come from silent glances, unspoken expectations, and the culture...

During a routine pregnancy ultrasound, parents sometimes hear that their baby has “hydronephrosis.” The word can sound intimidating — but in most cases, it’s manageable and often resolves on its own. Hydronephrosis simply means dilatation (widening) of the urine collecting part of the kidney, called the renal pelvis. It suggests that urine may not be flowing smoothly from the kidney to the bladder.