Women Diagnosed With Orbital Necrotizing Fasciitis

A woman's eyesight is in jeopardy if the flesh-eating disease of the eyes can not be controlled

Monday, December 2, 2019 - A shocking report published recently tells of a rare and unimaginably painful way in which the notorious flesh-eating bacteria has entered a human body. Many thought that Fournier's Gangrene, a type of flesh-eating disease that strikes diabetic patients in the perineum or scrotum region and requiring amputation or mutilation of the penis, was the most unthinkable medical condition. As it turns out, maybe the genitals is not the worst place to get the flesh-eating disease. Last week LiveScience reported a recent case where a 58-year old woman developed a case of the flesh-eating disease having entered through her eye sockets called orbital necrotizing fasciitis, an extremely rare condition.

Necrotizing fasciitis is caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA and usually enters the body through a break in the skin, taking hold, rotting tissue and spreading widely and rapidly. According to LiveScience the doctors originally treated the unlucky woman for cellulitis but upgraded the diagnosis to necrotizing fasciitis when the patient failed to respond to antibiotics.

Each year the news seems to feature headline-grabbing cases of the flesh-eating disease that enters the body through a cut or abrasion on the leg, foot, arm, hand or torso. Scientists blame a more virulent strain of Strep breeding in the warmer waters from the Gulf of Mexico up through the east coast of the US and also the weakened immune systems of the general population for the exponential increase of cases. Necrotizing fasciitis starts with a painful reddening of the tissues where the bacteria entered causing extreme pain, swelling, and fever. The infected area is usually hot to the touch. Imagine the pain of having these symptoms in and around the eyes, a very sensitive area of the body. People that are taking diabetic drugs or others that have a side effect of weakening the immune system are the most susceptible to developing necrotizing fasciitis. Dr. Ryan Walsh, from the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Tennessee, told LiveScience "it's unclear how the woman acquired the infection, but she was taking a medication for rheumatoid arthritis that weakened her immune system, which increased her risk of severe infections, Walsh said."

Fournier's Gangrene or necrotizing fasciitis of the scrotum and genitals is thought to develop from an immune system weakened by anti-diabetic drugs called Sodium-Glucose Transporters, of SGLT-2 drugs. The disease causes necrotizing fasciitis of the genitals requiring amputation or mutilation of the scrotum and penis and can readily spread throughout the body and cause death. The US FDA has identified 55 cases of Fournier's Gangrene and there are certainly many times more that go unidentified and unreported. Elderly diabetic patients suffering from suboptimal nursing home care in warmer climates like Florida seem to be at the greatest risk for the disease.

Happily, the woman mentioned above suffering from orbital necrotizing fasciitis has been able to return home from the hospital and is said to be responding well to treatments. "The woman underwent repeated surgeries to remove damaged or dead tissue from the area, and received antibiotics to treat the specific strains of bacteria she was infected with. After 13 days in the hospital, she was well enough to go home. She was released in stable condition, Walsh said, and to his knowledge, she does not have vision loss," according to LifeSciences.com

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Lawyers for Fournier's Gangrene

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