Gangrene

Alternative Names

Tissue infection - Clostridial, Gangrene - gas, Myonecrosis, Clostridial infection of tissues

What is Gangrene

Gangrene is a serious and often life-threatening condition when a considerable mass of body tissue dies.

Gangrene may appear after an injury or infection or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The word gangrene comes from the Latin word gangreana and the Greek wordgangraina, which both mean "purification of tissues".

There are different types of gangrene:

• dry gangrene
• wet gangrene
• gas gangrene
• internal gangrene
• necrotising fasciitis

Signs and symptoms

Gangrene affects your skin. The symptoms may include:

• skin discoloration — ranging from pale to blue, purple, black, bronze or red, depending on the type of gangrene you have
• severe pain followed by a feeling of numbness
• a foul-smelling discharge leaking from a sore
• the affected tissue is swollen and painful
• fever and feel unwell
• low blood pressure
• a body temperature greater than 100.4 F (38 C) or lower than 96.8 F (36 C)
• rapid heart rate
• lightheadedness
• shortness of breath
• confusion

Possible complications

This disease commonly leads to scarring or the need for reconstructive surgery. Sometimes some parts of your body may need to be removed (e.g. leg) Left untreated, gangrene may be fatal and lead to death.

What causes

The common causes of gangrene include:

• lack of blood supply
• infection

Prevention

You can prevent gangrene if you take the following precautions:

• care for your diabetes
• lose weight
• don't use tobacco
• help prevent infections
• watch out when the temperature drops

Treatment

The treatment should be determined by your doctor.

The treatment of gangrene is aimed to:

• remove the affected tissue
• prevent infection (or if infection is already present, to prevent it spreading)
• address the conditions that led to gangrene developing

The main ways of the treatment are:

• debridement (the surgical removal of the dead tissue that results from gangrene)
• maggot therapy (a non-surgical method of debridement)
• infection (usually treated with antibiotics, either intravenously)
• vascular surgery
• hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• reconstructive surgery (using a skin graft may be a possible way of treating gangrene that has caused damage to your skin)