(28) Pyoderma gangrenosum treated with azathioprine and prednisolone

F.S., male, aged 52 years. History. The patient developed pyoderma gangrenosum 6 weeks after prostatectomy in October 1972 for prostatitis which had led to retention of urine. Lesions developed in the suprapubic abdominal wound and numerous ulcers appeared on the legs and trunk with sparing of the arms and face. On examination. Lesions began as a pustule and enlarged peripherally, becoming a heaped up ulcer discharging copiously from a cribriform base (Fig. i). There was moderate discomfort. General examination was within normal limits. Investigations. Skin biopsy from a thigh lesion confirmed the clinical diagnosis. The lesions were bacteriologically sterile. Full investigation failed to show any evidence of ulcerative colitis, Crohn's