Noma in Cambodia : scars from the past

Abstract

Background: Noma is an orofacial gangrene that tends to afflict starving and malnourished children. It has a high mortality rate, and even if the child survives, a lifelong deformity of the face occurs. There is a worldwide incidence of Noma in areas of mass poverty and famines, but it is rare in South East Asia. In Cambodia, the Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC) has seen and treated 20 patients with facial deformity secondary to Noma occuring in the 1970s (during the “Pol Pot period”). Objective: A review and case report.