Through medical history, the patient said that 13 days before being admitted to the hospital, he had symptoms of swelling, heat, redness and pain in the scrotum. The patient went to a local herbalist for examination and applied herbal medicine at home. However, after applying this method, the condition not only did not improve but also became more severe. The patient had necrosis of the entire scrotal skin area, spreading to the abdominal wall.
The patient was admitted to the hospital with the following conditions: Fever, necrotic perineum and abdominal wall, foul-smelling, pus-filled, pseudomembrane-filled, and very painful scrotal area.
After 2 days of treatment at the primary medical facility but no improvement, the patient was transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
Here, the patient was diagnosed with Fournier syndrome, followed by sepsis with obvious symptoms: The scrotal area had a lot of pus necrosis and spread to the abdominal wall. This syndrome is a condition of soft tissue necrosis in the genital and anal areas, a very dangerous complication that can lead to death.
MSc. Dr. Ha Viet Huy (Department of Intensive Care) said: The genital and anal areas are areas with very few blood vessels, so medical treatment is often ineffective. In this case, only surgery can save the patient's life.
The patient was transferred to the Department of General Surgery - Urology & Andrology for surgery.
Dr. Tran Thuong Viet - Head of the Department of General Surgery - Urology & Andrology, who directly performed the surgery on the patient - shared: "We have completely removed the necrotic scrotum, perineum and necrotic abdominal wall. However, the necrosis can still continue to progress and it is possible that the patient will have to undergo one or several more surgeries. After the surgery to remove the necrotic area, the patient was transferred back to the Intensive Care Unit for continued treatment."
Fournier syndrome is common in patients with weakened immune systems. If not detected and treated promptly, the disease can lead to dangerous complications such as blood loss, septic shock, and a very high risk of death. In this case, the patient's self-treatment with unknown tobacco products created ideal conditions for bacteria to grow, causing the disease to progress more quickly and become more complicated.
Dr. Huy also advised that although Fournier syndrome is a rare disease, it can still be completely cured if detected early and treated promptly. People should avoid self-treatment by word of mouth methods, especially using tobacco or folk remedies of unknown origin. When there are unusual symptoms such as swelling, heat, redness, and pain in the genital or anal area, patients should quickly go to reputable medical facilities for timely examination and treatment.
