Gangrene is a serious condition in which injury or an underlying health condition causes the blood supply to the tissue to be cut off, causing the tissue to die. The resulting dead tissue can get infected, resulting in wet gangrene. According to the NYU Langone Medical center, if the infection with Clostridia bacteria results in the production of gas bubbles in the tissue, the condition is then called gas gangrene. There are three main treatment approaches for gangrene in the foot, and all three may be administered in the same case.
Surgery
Once gangrene is diagnosed and the dead tissue is identified, the first step in treatment is usually surgery, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The immediate goal is to remove the dead tissue of the foot, which enables the living surrounding tissue to begin the healing process. If gangrene has spread over a large area on the foot or has spread up the leg, the foot and/or a portion of the leg may need to be amputated. Further operations may be needed to remove more dead tissue if it is not all removed in the first operation, or if more tissue continues to die.
Antibiotics
In the cases of wet and gas gangrene, the infection needs to be treated to prevent the death of further living tissue. In these cases, the NYU Langone Medical Center notes that antibiotic medications are used to treat the infection. Even if it is not clear if the foot is infected, antibiotics are often administered to prevent a life-threatening infection from occurring.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
MayoClinic.com describes a type of therapy used specifically to treat gas gangrene called hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This therapy requires the patient to be enclosed in a clear plastic tube, usually on a padded table that slides into and out of the tube. Oxygen is pumped into the tube, and the pressure is increased to approximately 2.5 times the normal atmospheric pressure. The increased pressure allows the concentration of oxygen in the blood to increase, which greatly inhibits the ability of the Clostridium bacteria to grow and spread. The individual treatments are generally 90 minutes in length and are repeated over several days.
