English businessman Mark Brooks, 54, has already undergone 25 surgeries to try to preserve his left arm. The limb was the main part of his body attacked by a serious bacterial infection after he sprained his elbow during training in December 2023.
The small injury combined with a throat infection that persisted all day led Mark to a serious case of necrotizing fasciitis. The businessman spent 25 days in hospital while the skin and muscles on his arm quickly died. “It was terrifying. I could see the bones in my arm,” he recalled in a series of statements on Facebook.
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The doctors who treated him believe that this illness developed following a serious throat infection from which the Englishman thought he had already recovered, but which remained latent. Combined with the rupture of some blood vessels and muscle fibers caused by the injury, Mark’s health began to deteriorate rapidly.
“While I was exercising, I sprained my elbow, but it wasn’t serious. Then I had a fever and slept like a log. When I woke up, the pain in my elbow was so bad that I didn’t use my arm much,” he says. Mark’s fever remained high and the patient began vomiting. “I thought it was bad luck to have an elbow injury, sore throat and food poisoning combined.”
From diagnosis to surgery in just a few hours
As he had a trip planned to Dubai, he embarked for his professional engagement. Health continued to deteriorate rapidly during this period. Two days after arriving in Dubai, he realized the seriousness of the situation when he felt himself start to think slowly and felt unwell.
He was taken to hospital and while doctors were carrying out diagnostic tests, just two hours after he entered the hospital, an intense red, swollen spot appeared on the man’s arm, suggesting it was necrotizing fasciitis.
The diagnosis being confirmed, he underwent emergency surgery. The disease, known as flesh-eating bacteria, rapidly destroys muscle and skin and has an estimated mortality rate of 20%. In cases where the kidneys are affected, as happened with Mark, the risk of death is as high as 40%, according to the MSD manual.
“I was in the intensive care unit for a week. They told me I had multiple organ failure. When I woke up, I saw my arm almost without skin, as if there was no way to support it. It was something horrible to watch,” he says.
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Businessman underwent 25 operations on his arm
Reproduction/Facebook//Mark Aourtland2 of 5
The bacterial infection in his arm quickly worsened and left Mark in intensive care for a week.
Reproduction/Facebook//Marc Aourtland3 out of 5
Mark underwent rushed surgery on his arm hours after being diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis
Reproduction/Facebook//Mark Aourtland4 out of 5
Businessman underwent more than 25 surgeries
Reproduction/Facebook//Mark Aourtland5 out of 5
Despite the challenges, Mark continues his active routine
Reproduction/Facebook//Marc Aourtland
Life after a bacterial infection
After nine weeks in hospital, the Englishman managed to overcome the bacterial infection, but it still took a long journey to regain movement in his arm. Twenty-five surgical procedures were performed on the limb to rebuild part of the muscles, perform grafts and remove dead tissue. Mark had to remove muscles from his leg and back to rebuild his left arm.
“I still have to undergo three or four surgeries in the coming years to improve my appearance. I am very grateful that I was able to keep my arm. I believe that in another hospital they probably would have amputated my arm at the shoulder without trying so long to regain my health. Now I plan to write an autobiography about my journey,” he concludes.
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