[Necrotizing perineal phlegmon (Fournier's gangrene)]

The scrotal and perineal necrosis process, known as Fournier's gangrene, constitutes a characteristic clinical pattern of fulminating course and high mortality. In this series, we analyse 22 patients bearers of this condition treated in our service over the last 10 years. Their average age was 60.6. A factor unleashing the infectious process could be shown in 14 patients (63.6%), chiefly urogenital pathology. Six patients were diabetic (27.3%). The treatment favoured by the authors contemplates early surgical intervention with limited debridement, ample drainage, wide spectrum antibiotics and cystostomy in appropriate cases. With this schema the mortality of the series was only 9.1% (2 patients). This entity represents a real urological emergency. Its early identification and prompt appropriate treatment are key elements for bringing down the high mortality.