Tertiary Stage
The tertiary stage of syphilis, sometimes called the “destructive stage”, may start 10 to 30 years following the infection. It is the most serious stage, because other vital organs get involved. Without treatment, 15-40 % of cases will progress to the tertiary stage. Even though the disease is not incurable at this point, the damage caused to organs like the heart or the kidneys is most often irreparable and even leads to organ failure. [5]
About 70% of people with syphilis live as carriers of infection, moving from the latent phase of tertiary syphilis to the recurrence phase over and over. This may last for decades, but the immune system will eventually fail. Such patients also have a great risk for disability or fatal outcomes as they move on to the next stage. [6]
The 3 major complications of the tertiary stage are:
- Gummatous Syphilis;
- Cardiovascular Syphilis;
- Neurosyphilis.
Complications of Tertiary Syphilis
Gummatous syphilis is when gummas start developing on different parts of your body. They are soft tumor-like lesions caused by an inflammatory reaction and contain dead and swollen fiber-like tissues. They can grow deep and eat away at the tissues of the skin, lungs, liver and even bone, causing extensive damage to nearby organs. Gummas can also be infected with other bacteria leading to serious complications like abscess and gangrene. [6, 7]
Cardiovascular syphilis is a complication that affects the heart and blood vessels and causes severe inflammation of the aorta, causing it to swell and weaken. As a result, an aortic aneurysm may develop, in which the aorta bulges out with the risk of spontaneous bursting. [5]
Neurosyphilis affects the central nervous system – the brain and the spinal cord. Some patients might have telltale symptoms like:
- General paresis (also referred to as paralytic dementia);
- Meningitis (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and the spinal cord);
- Tabes dorsalis – the condition caused by the destruction of nerves in the spinal cord.
Other possible signs include seizures, personality changes, hallucinations, dementia, loss of balance, stroke, ringing in the ears, or hearing loss, blurry vision or blindness. [7, 5]
Be sure to report all your symptoms to the doctor. Neurosyphilis requires special treatment and tests to reveal it.
