Abstract

Cervical necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a rare and fatal bacterial infection. It is characterized with tissue necrosis advancing on fascial planes and subcutaneous tissues. In this article, we present two NF patients who were evaluated for prevalent neck pain and motion limitation. We observed prevalent edema on subcutaneous tissue on neck computed tomography. We transferred the patients, who were diagnosed as NF, to intensive care and started wide spectrum antibiotherapy. We performed neck exploration in emergency conditions and resected all necrotic fascial planes. First patient died due to a secondary hospital infection on 45th day of hospitalization despite the elimination of the infection in the neck. Second patient was discharged from hospital at postoperative 10th day without any follow-up complication. The diagnosis of NF is established with clinical suspicion and physical examination. Early diagnosis, appropriate wide spectrum antibiotherapy, and surgical debridement are the most important factors to avoid mortality.