Posted on 10/29/2006 2:50:20 PM PST by neverdem
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A teenager who decided to get her breasts pierced for her 18th birthday faces reconstructive surgery after a flesh-destroying infection forced doctors to remove her left breast.
Stephanie Edington of Crawfordsville remained hospitalized Friday at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, where surgeons also removed lymph nodes and infected skin up to her collar bone.
Dr. Robert Goulet Jr., a professor at the Indiana University Cancer Center, said the piercing created an entry point for the bacteria, but the procedure likely did not cause the infection itself. Edington is diabetic, which left her susceptible to infection, he said.
Doctors diagnosed Edington, who had the piercings on Aug. 29, with necrotizing fasciitis, or gas gangrene - a rare condition that results from rapid bacteria growth and leads to tissue destruction. It is only the third documented case in the world of gas gangrene in the breast area, Goulet told The Paper of Montgomery County.
She was in critical condition by the time she arrived at the hospital Oct. 14, Goulet said.
"By the time she got here, the skin tissue was all pretty much completely dead," he said. "She was a very sick kid when she got here."
Edington is on an aggressive antibiotic regimen and has already undergone three surgeries. She faces several more, including eventual breast reconstruction.
She said she was eager to be discharged but worries about what awaits her.
"I would like to get out, but I am scared of what people are going to be thinking," she said.
Edington's mother, Pamela Osban, said her daughter's illness has shaken their entire family. She worries about her daughter's future.
"You have no idea what it's like to almost lose your daughter and then to make the decision to have one of her breasts removed," she said. "Some people say 'It's just a breast.' They aren't an 18-year old girl. It's devastating for her and for the family."
I always thought having pieces of metal dangling in open wounds on the eyebrow, forehead, cheek or chin or anywhere else is the sickest thing anyone can think of having.
Sick, and an unpleasant sight too.
"If ever I should cleave youuuuu...."
I saw a junkie who lost one of his biceps and all the tissue over it to necrotizing fasciitis when I was a third year medical student. It's not something easily forgotten.
OUCH!!!
Good thing she didn't get her tongue pierced. Unlikey the procedure caused the infection? I wouldn't bet on it. It's the first thing I'd think of. And why'd she wait so long to see a doctor? She should have gone at first sign of infection, ESPECIALLY since she was diabetic.
A lot of stupiditiy there.
Good grief--it's saddening as much as it's sickening...
I never did understand why people my age have to have piercings--the whole concept is lost on me.
IMHO, while she's 18 and obviously able to make her own decisions, she clearly hasn't learned that to every decision lies a consequence. It's a real shame though that she loses one of her breasts at 18 as a result of a poor choice--prayers for this young lady...
I guess the case that comes to my mind is that of a guy who had a nothing stab wound to the abdominal wall - he spent the night in the hospital and by the next day he had a fever and a white count. He ended up losing his whole anterior abdominal wall - in a matter of just hours - I think he ultimately made it but just barely - many, many trips to the OR, marlex, ICU etc. etc. There must have been some nasty stuff on the knife he was stabbed with.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"She could star in a Vonage commercial."
LOL! Thanks!
Poor kid. I know I made some bad decisions when I was younger, and for the most part was lucky. This girl wasn't, and her bad decision will affect her the rest of her life. It's sad.
ping
Hopefully she will learn from the experience. Sorry, I wouldn't expect pity, and she deserves the same.
she must be italian shes wop sided
"What kind of dip$hit pierces her nips?"
Public school fool? Maybe it has something to do with the "self esteem" craze? I can't recall seeing so many folks with assorted body piercings and tattoos as I do now.
What a boob.
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