Fatal necrotizing fasciitis following suction-assisted lipectomy

Forty-eight hours following extensive blunt suction lipectomy with 3,000 cc of tissue removed, a 36-year-old woman presented to an emergency room with necrotizing fasciitis of both lower extremities extending over the buttock and to the lower third of the back. Tissue cultures and blood culture grew out a pure culture of beta-hemolytic streptococci. The patient rapidly progressed into a comatose state and, despite extensive debridement and appropriate antibiotic therapy, in addition to hyperbaric oxygen treatments, she died on day 9 of her hospitalization (day 11 following the suction lipectomy). To our knowledge this is the first published mortality reported in the United States following this procedure.