MRI for the Early Diagnosis of Necrotizing Fasciitis

Son, Gil Soo; Choi, In Suk; Kim, Ki Hun; Jung, Ki Hoon; Hong, Yun Sik

Abstract

Necrotizing fasciitis is an uncommon infection of the subcutaneous soft tissue and fascia. The infection is expands rapidly and is highly lethal, so an early diagnosis and a radical debridement of all affected tissues until healthy tissue is encountered is imperative. There are many diagnostic methods such as simple X-ray study, ultrsonography, computerized tomography and diagnostic multiple incisions, but nothing can disclose the extent of affected tissue definitely. Recently someone advocated that magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) is useful to diagnose necrotizing fasciitis. We could determine the extent of underlying infection in a patient with perineal necrotizing fasciitis by using preoperative MRI, and treat it by one surgical resection. We propose that MRI can be used to diagnose the necrotizing fasciitis early and to disclose the extent of affected tissue, to help determine the extent of resection.