Fournier's gangrene and its management

To find out major causes of Fournier's gangrene and evaluate its management. A retrospective study was done at Department of Urology JPMC, Karachi, and records of all 32 patients with Fournier's Gangrene over 4 years' period i.e. from December 2001 till 2005 were reviewed. Mean age was 48 years, all being male. All presented with an average delay of 2-10 days. Involvement was typical, with 70% extending to lower abdominal wall, and 10% to perianal region. 37.5% presented with septic shock. Cause being urological in most of the cases [78.13%], followed by anorectal in 6.2% and idiopathic in 15.6%. Associated diseases were diabetes mellitus in 37.5%, uraemia in 12.5% and hepatic failure in 6.25%. 25% patients died due to multiorgan failure in our study. Aggressive surgical debridment with supportive measures remained the key to success