Fournier gangrene: an historical reappraisal

Perineal gangrene (synergistic gangrene), an age-old severe infectious disorder, was more completely described by Dr Robert Robertson (1742-1829) in 1777, providing much needed data on the clinical features well before Dr Jean Alfred Fournier's (1832-1914) account in 1883. Robertson's historically overlooked and detailed narrative is presented with implications, in part, refuting some conclusions made by Fournier 100 years later.