[Artefact--diagnosis and therapy from the surgical viewpoint]

Factitious wounds are often overlooked when patients are treated. The experiences we have had with ten patients (nine women and one man) are discussed. A typical case report of a 19 year old female, who had been hospitalized 19 times, demonstrates the magnitude of the diagnostic and therapeutic problems involved in such cases. If the basic psychological disorder cannot be eliminated, medical treatment will remain unsuccessful.