Frostbite: management options.

Department of Vascular Surgery, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. grnagle@rcsi.ie

Frostbite is a condition that is associated with people living in countries with an extremely cold climate. It can also, however, affect people who are involved in winter sports, and is also associated with the homeless, people with a psychiatric illness, and those who misuse drugs and alcohol. We describe the case of a 47-year-old homeless man who was diagnosed with severe frostbite in both lower legs. The lesion consisted of hemorrhagic blistering with already visible demarcation. When sepsis developed both lower legs had to be amputated as a matter of urgency. We describe the assessment and management of a patient with frostbite and identify the challenges of managing these complex tissue injuries.

PMID: 18460961 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]