Woman’s Arm, Breast Amputated in Race to Stop Deadly Bacteria

A woman stricken with a deadly strain of bacteria was fighting for her life Friday after three operations in which she lost her left arm and a breast, her physician said.

“She’s desperately ill,” said Dr. Charles Brantigan, chief of surgery at Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center.

The 51-year-old woman’s identity has been withheld at the request of family members “who are under a great deal of stress,” Brantigan said.

Surgeons on Thursday amputated her left arm and breast in a race to stop the spread of streptococcus Group A, a virulent form of streptococcal bacteria. She had another operation during the night in which tissue was taken from both of her legs.

The woman is being treated with enormous amounts of antibiotics, and doctors finally were able to move her into a hyperbaric chamber Friday, Brantigan said.

The chamber forces heavy concentrations of oxygen into the blood in order to speed up the healing process.

Brantigan said the woman came to the emergency room Wednesday, complaining of pain in her ankle.

She did not mention at the time that she was suffering from a sore throat, but a culture later showed that she had strep throat.

Brantigan stressed that the disease is not new, and that the best course of action is quick treatment when such symptoms as high fever, delirium and a spreading rash occur.

“Patients with this disease know they are real sick. They have high fever and they feel terrible. They need to seek medical advice,” he said at a news conference.

Brantigan said the medical team treating the woman was receiving penicillin as a precaution, and that throat cultures have been taken from family members.