Recurrent crural phlegmonous abscesses as a sign of Münchausen syndrome in a young woman

: We present a case of a 22-year-old woman chronically treated in many hospitals because of recurrent crural phlegmonous abscesses. Several months' follow up revealed Munchausen syndrome--a rare psychiatric disorder--manifesting with self-perpetuated and repeated fabrication of illness resulting in wandering from hospital to hospital for diagnosis and treatment. The above patient produced the abscesses by deliberately traumatizing her skin. The case points to Munchausen syndrome as a possible rare cause of some long, unsuccessfully treated diseases.