Surgery Overview of Necrosis in the Human Body By Jennifer Whitlock, RN, MSN, FN linkedin Jennifer Whitlock, RN, MSN, FNP-C, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner. She has experience in primary care and hospital medicine. Learn about our editorial process Jennifer Whitlock, RN, MSN, FN Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Jason DelCollo, DO on November 24, 2019 Jason DelCollo, DO, board-certified in family medicine. He is associate faculty at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine as well as adjunct faculty with the Crozer Family Medicine Residency Program, and is an attending physician at Glen Mills Family Medicine in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Learn about our Medical Review Board Jason DelCollo, DO Updated on September 17, 2020 Print Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Types of Necrosis Causes and Risk Factors Treatment Necrosis in the death of tissues of the body. Necrosis can be treated, with the dead tissue being removed, but the affected tissue can not be returned to good health. Types of Necrosis One common type of necrosis is caused by damage from frostbite. During frostbite, the tissues are severely damaged by cold, and if the condition is not treated quickly, the frostbitten areas turn black and die. These black areas are necrotic, or affected by necrosis, and cannot be healed and are typically removed during surgery. Another type of necrosis happens when a clot, such as a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) forms in a blood vessel and blocks blood flow to an area of the body. If blood flow is not restored quickly, the area starves for oxygen and eventually dies. This usually happens in the legs (but can happen anywhere in the body) and can result in the loss of tissue below the site of the blockage if the blood vessel is completely blocked. Verywell / Cindy Chung Causes and Risk Factors Necrosis is caused by a lack of blood and oxygen to the tissue. It may be triggered by chemicals, cold, trauma, radiation or chronic conditions that impair blood flow. There are many types of necrosis, as it can affect many areas of the body, including bone, skin, organs and other tissues. It isn't always a clot or cold that leads to necrosis, these are just common examples. Many types of injuries can cause enough damage that necrosis happens. Infection can destroy surrounding tissues until they become necrotic, as can trauma like a car accident or fall from a ladder. Any time blood flow is blocked to an area, or an area is so damaged that blood can not flow to and from it, necrosis may be possible. Treatment The good news (and bad news) is that a complete blockage of blood flow is typically painful, and usually painful enough that the individual seeks treatment immediately. Treatment may include surgery to restore blood flow or to remove the damaged tissues, antibiotics to prevent or treat infection, or treating the burn or other issues that caused the initial damage. What Is Avascular Necrosis? Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Adigun R, Basit H, Murray J. Necrosis, cell (liquefactive, coagulative, caseous, fat, fibrinoid, and gangrenous). StatPearls. Updated June 30, 2019. Basit H, Wallen TJ, Dudley C. Frostbite. StatPearls. Updated December 1, 2019.