Munchausen syndrome

Munchausen syndrome is a rare condition in which the patient repeatedly see ks medical care for factitious illnesses. With this self-inflicted disease, the patients characteristically travel from one hospital to another, feign ing acute, usually spectacular illnesses. The patients willingly submit the mselves to extensive as well as invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedu res. Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric disorder that requires psychiatri c treatment. Reconstructive surgical procedures may be required to correct the acquired deformities. The difficulty in Munchausen syndrome lies essent ially in early recognition of the psychiatric syndrome. Two exceptional cas es are reported, and diagnosis and treatment are presented in the light of the current literature.