As told by Dr. Jhapat Bahadur Thapa
The patient was a 60-year old Dalit male who had been carried to the clinic from his home in Payal (a 4 hour walk away) by 10 or 15 people. He presented with swelling in the scrotum and perineum, and could not walk due to the heaviness and pain. Dr. Thapa diagnosed the patient with evolving Fournier’s Gangrene, and cleaned and dressed the site under local anesthesia. He started the patient on IV antibiotics.
The patient had been sick for two weeks and had not visited any health care center or traditional healer. He had applied local herbal paste, made from leaves, which is common traditional practice in villages. These had to be cleaned away from the wounds.
Technically, this patient had evolving cellulitus of the scrotum and though it was not yet Fournier’s Gangrene, if he had not been treated at that time he would have risked losing his testicles. Gangrene is a necrotizing infection that causes the death of macroscopic tissues. The condition is more common in older people because of decreased immunity. The patient had swelling with a discharge of pus all over the scrotum, not localized. The superficial layer of skin was red and eroded.
The patient returned to Nyaya’s clinic, walking, after ten days and Dr. Thapa examined him. The wounds had dried, and there was no pain or discharge. Says Dr. Thapa, “he was perfectly healthy by the time he returned. It was the earlier treatment that helped prevent a devastating disease.”