Seton Medical Center's Dr. John Crew will explain how he developed a new approach that is saving the lives and limbs of patients with deadly necrotizing fasciitis
DALY CITY, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 28, 2015 / Dr. John Crew, director of the Advanced Wound Care Center at Seton Medical Center in Daly City, California, today announced that he has been invited to conduct surgical grand rounds at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans and the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS.
Dr. Crew will describe his pioneering approach for treating life-threatening 'flesh-eating disease,' or necrotizing fasciitis, using a wound cleanser called NeutroPhase(R). The grand rounds will take place on Wednesday, January 28th at the University of Mississippi, and Friday, January 30th at Tulane.
"This is a great opportunity," said Dr. Crew. "Necrotizing fasciitis is a real problem in Louisiana and Mississippi. If doctors there are willing to try this new method, which already has saved the lives of limbs of every patient we've treated, we have a chance to really help patients who get this deadly disease."
In the traditional treatment for necrotizing fasciitis, doctors kill the bacteria in an infected wound with antibiotics and cut away all the dead tissue. But the toxins produced during the infection can kill tissue so fast that people can quickly lose arms, legs-or their lives. Even with aggressive traditional treatment, mortality can be as high as 20%.
In the new treatment developed by Dr. Crew, doctors irrigate the wound with NeutroPhase, in conjunction with a vacuum assisted technique called Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT). NeutroPhase contains Neutrox(TM), which is pure hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a naturally occurring substance produced by white blood cells to fight microbial invaders. Laboratory tests show it has potent antimicrobial activity in solution, including the ability to neutralize bacterial toxins that destroy issue, yet is completely non-toxic to healthy mammalian cells.
In medical journals and in media stories, Dr. Crew has described the successful treatment of patients with necrotizing fasciitis. He has now overseen the care of more than 35 NF patients. None have lost a limb or any body part, and more importantly, none have died.
Dr. Crew's groundbreaking work has earned him a nomination for the Lister Legacy Prize, an award presented by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to recognize contributions in controlling infections, as well as invitations to speak around the counts.
SOURCE: Dr. John Crew