Treatment

Treatment is usually surgical debridement, wound care and antibiotic therapy although amputation is necessary in many cases. "Most amputations are performed for ischemic disease of the lower extremity. Of dysvascular amputations, 15-28% of patients undergo contralateral limb amputations within 3 years. Of elderly persons who undergo amputations, 50% survive the first 3 years." In the United States, 30,000-40,000 amputations are performed annually. There were an estimated 1.6 million individuals living with the loss of a limb in 2005; these estimates are expected to more than double to 3.6 million such individuals by the year 2050. Antibiotics alone are not effective because they may not penetrate infected tissues sufficiently. Hyperbaric medicine (HBOT) treatment is used to treat gas gangrene. HBOT increases pressure and oxygen content to allow blood to carry more oxygen to inhibit anaerobic organism growth and reproduction. A regenerative medicine therapy was developed by Dr. Peter DeMarco to treat gangrene using procaine and PVP. He gave his therapy to diabetic patients to avoid amputations. Growth factors, hormones and skin grafts have also been used to accelerate healing for gangrene and other chronic wounds.