Postoperative progressive gangrene: a reminderxs

Abstract

A classical example of progressive postoperative gangrene is described and the relevant literature has been reviewed. After consideration of the evolution and the clinical appearances of the condition, of the consistency of the associated bacterial flora and of the response to antibiotic therapy alone, we suggest that progressive postoperative gangrene is a distinct entity and separate from pyoderma gangrenosum.

Successful treatment of postoperative pyoderma gangrenosum with cyclosporin

“…PPG, first reported by Cullen in 1924, 1 is classified today as a variant of pyoderma gangrenosum. Since 1924 there have been several reports of cases of PPG 2–14,24,25 …”

Deep and acute vulval ulceration. Case report

“…Time may be the deciding factor. Necrotizing fasciitis, or synergistic gangrene, is a rapidly progressive and often fatal infection occurring after surgery (Hutchinson et al 1976). Spontaneous involvement of the vulva has been described, but in a series of 22 patients all were diabetic, apart from one (Roberts & Hester 1972;Roberts 1987); in all of these cases the destruction extended well beyond the vulva on to the adjacent thigh or abdominal wall.…”

Non‐Sexually Transmitted Infections of the Vulva

“…It is important to distinguish necrotizing fasciitis from extensive pyoderma gangrenosum (Hutchinson et al 1976), as the treatment for this is with high-dose steroids -radically different from the immediate surgical debridement and high-dose antibiotic therapy necessary to increase the chances of survival in necrotizing fasciitis. Early treatment is vital as, in one series of 29 patients, 15 patients had a delay of more than 48 hours between presentation and treatment, and 11 of these died (Stephenson et al 1992).…”