Abstract

The smell of a fungating or ulcerating tumour can much distress patients and their relatives. Help can come from surgical toiletry and attentive nursing with fragrant dressings, activated charcoal, deodorisers and good ventilation,¹ but even so smell often persists and demoralises the patient. The smell is often associated with anaerobic bacteria which colonise the moist necrotic tissue and produce volatile metabolites. Metronidazole 0.8% gel (Metrotop – Farmitalia CE) is promoted for ‘reducing the misery of fungating, smelly tumours’.