FOURNIERS-GANGRENE - REVIEW OF 15 CASES

Fournier's gangrene is a synergistic necrotizing fasciitis of the peri neum and abdominal wall along with the scrotum and penis in men and th e vulva in women. The process was believed to be idiopathic in initial descriptions. Fifteen patients were treated for Fournier's gangrene b etween 1990 and 1995 in the Departments of General Surgery and Urology , School of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey. The most co mmon causes were perianal sepsis and urogenital diseases. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were identified most commonly in cultur es of necrotic tissue. The mortality rate was 20 per cent despite aggr essive surgical debridement and broad-spectrum antibiotics.