Skin necrosis after self-administered intramuscular diclofenac.

Intramuscular diclofenac is used extensively for pain relief in medical practice. Tissue necrosis is a rare but serious complication of intramuscular injections. The pathogenetic mechanism is still not completely understood. A case of tissue necrosis following self-administration of diclofenac inadvertently injected into an arterial perforator branch of the superficial femoral artery is reported, supporting a vascular pathogenesis. Copyright (c) 2009 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.