Leandro Guimarães knows something many adults forget: a frightened child needs a superpower, not a lecture.
This Brazilian otolaryngologist lets his patients choose their favorite costume—Batman, The Flash, whatever they like—before entering the operating room. The children fly on his shoulder or run hand in hand with him down the hospital hallway, convinced they are invincible. The idea came from his own story: during medical school, he joined a group of hospital clowns, and there he discovered that fear is fought with play, not explanations.
When the surgery is over, the costume does not stay at the hospital. The parents take it home as a keepsake, and many children return for follow-up appointments wearing the same outfit, with no trace of trauma. Some have even asked him to operate on them, even if the surgery has nothing to do with ears, nose, or throat. In 2025, his story earned him the WEmbrace Award, but he already had the real prize: the trust of a child who enters an operating room smiling.
