ABSTRACT

Gas gangrene is the most fulminant necrotising infection that affects humans beings. Although it is frequently related with trauma and surgery, the disease also affects the patients with dibetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease and malignancy. Among the toxins produced by the microorganisms, Phospholipase C is the most important for myonecrosis. There is no acute tissue response to inflammation and structural and functional integrity of endothelium is also broken.

In this study, a patient with gas gangrene involving the chest wall and its muscles after left mastectomy is reported. Chest wall resection was needed to remove necrotic tissues completely and methyl metachrylate sandwich greft was used to reconstruct the chest wall. But, the greft had to be removed due to the infection lasting for about 4 months and Prolene mesh over fibrotic pleura had been used for reconstruction. To the best of our knowledge, gas gangrene requiring chest wall resection and reconstruction after mastectomy has not been reported in the literature.