title: Munchausen syndrome.
abstract: Munchausen syndrome is a rare condition in which the patient repeatedly seeks medical care for factitious illnesses. With this self-inflicted disease, the patients characteristically travel from one hospital to another, feigning acute, usually spectacular illnesses. The patients willingly submit themselves to extensive as well as invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric disorder that requires psychiatric treatment. Reconstructive surgical procedures may be required to correct the acquired deformities. The difficulty in Munchausen syndrome lies essentially in early recognition of the psychiatric syndrome. Two exceptional cases are reported, and diagnosis and treatment are presented in the light of the current literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Fontaine
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Geertruyden
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Preud'homme
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldschmidt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007871:Leg Ulcer / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008209:Lymphedema / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009110:Munchausen Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000523:psychology