Twenty patients with acute dermal gangrene following surgery, trauma or sepsis are described. In 12 the skin became gangrenous secondary to a necrotizing process affecting the subdermal fascia, and in 8 the condition arose primarily in the skin. In the first group mortality was high unless radical excision of the necrotic fascia was performed at an early stage; in 3 of the recent patients the overlying skin was removed, defatted and stored for later grafting. In the second group, incision and adequate drainage combined with antibiotics seemed to suffice. Hyperbaric oxygen was of dubious value in the first group but appeared to contribute to arrest of the lesion in the second group.
Summary
The author's experience of fourteen patients with necrotizing fasciitis is reviewed. The pathognomonic feature of this condition is an extensive necrosis of subcutaneous tissue caused by a vicious cycle of infection, local ischaemia and reduced host defence mechanisms. The diagnosis can only be confirmed by immediate exploratory incision.
The reported mortality of 30-40% reflects the inadaquacy of conservative surgery in the treatment of this serious condition. Mortality can be reduced by early recognition followed by radical excision of the necrotic fascia and overlying skin. The preservation and subsequent use of the excised skin has the advantage of economy in the use of donor areas and reduction in morbidity. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy does not halt the spread of the necrotizing process and is not a substitute for radical surgery.
Cellulite is a common condition in women for which treatment is frequently requested. Its etiology is unknown, but a myriad of factors including genetics, hormones, and inflammation appear to contribute to its formation. Despite the popularity of therapies touting their effectiveness for this pervasive condition, few have proven long-lasting benefits. Lasers and light sources are the latest devices to have entered the cellulite therapeutic market. This paper describes these optical devices and provides an overview of their published effectiveness.
The Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay was used as one of a series of laboratory and clinical investigations on a group of 31 patients suffering from septic shock in order to assess the clinical significance of this assay for the detection of circulating endotoxin in clinical gram-negative sepsis. Four patients with cardiogenic shock served as controls. Endotoxin was detected in the bloodstream of all patients with septic shock during the 24 h following referral and was not detected in the control patients. Eventual clinical recovery was associated with the disappearance of endotoxin from the peripheral blood. Blood cultures were unhelpful as a prognostic indicator in these critically ill patients. A quantitative assay of endotoxin in blood may allow a more precise relationship with the clinical manifestations of major sepsis.
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