Excess Fat Helped 39-year-old Survive Flesh-eating Bug

Thirty-nine year old, Russell Kimble, was surprised at what he landed after a routine operation. Medically called as necrotising fasciitis, it is a deadly bacterium which begins at the place of trauma and just spreads through the body, destroying skin, tissue and fat at a rate of up to three centimeters an hour. Fortunately Russell survived because he was obese and the extra fat stopped the infection from going to his organs. He weighted 27 st and because he was fat, it slowed down the intensity of the bacterial attack.

Doctors performed an emergency surgery to do away with infected flesh. The survival rate for victims of this disease is not much as statistics show that one out of four infected patients die.

Since Russell was so overweight, doctors were able to stop the bacterial spread before it could reach his organs or blood stream. He underwent 20 surgeries and also spent 9 days in medically induced coma.

Mr Kimble, a transport manager from Chatham, Kent, said: ‘I had a lot of weight to lose but being a big chap probably saved my life, along with all the work of the doctors and nurses. Surgeons could afford to cut away a lot of my skin and flesh, which was fortunate as it was spreading fast. Surgeons would remove a load of skin and flesh, and then take me up to intensive care to assess how I was going then I would go back down again and they would remove more.’



Source-Medindia