A 63-year-old man in Phuket is fighting to save his right leg, after a cat scratch gave him flesh-eating bacteria, his doctor said yesterday.
On Jan. 16, Weera Pantip heard the sounds made by stray cats outside of his home, so he went out to shoo them away and ended up with scratch on his right leg, Morning News reported.
The next day, Weera developed a fever and the wound started to swell. Two days later, he was admitted to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where doctors found that he was infected with the flesh-eating bacteria necrotizing fasciitis.
Photos widely shared on Facebook show that the man’s leg started to rot and turn black.
“On Jan. 18, doctors cleaned the wound but found he was infected with nacrotyzing pascilitis. This infection damages the skin and fat tissue, then it infects muscles,” said Vachira Hospital Director Dr. Chalermpong Sukonthapon.
“Later that night, a doctor removed the dead flesh. If we left this, we would have had to amputate his leg because this disease is severely toxic. It destroys tissue and spreads widely,” he added.
Dr. Chalermpong said Weera has low blood platelet count and kidney disease, which has made the antibiotics less effective.
On Jan. 21, doctors found that the infection had spread down to the patient’s feet and up to his thigh, The Phuket News reported.
“This patient is in a dangerous phase. We treated the patient as best as we could in order to keep his leg,” he added.
The doctor said it will take one to two weeks for the wound to heal. The patient may need to stay in the hospital for a month before he can go home, and more flesh may be removed if necessary.
“Necrotizing fasciitis is rare, but it can especially affect people with low immunity, including those who take steroids. People with normal immunity levels should find that the wounds will heal by themselves,” Dr. Chalermpong said.
