Erysipelas is a superficial cellulitis that affects the skin and subcutaneous tissues. There is also prominent lymphatic involvement. Group A streptococci are the usual cause of this painful infection, but the responsible organisms cannot always be cultured from the fiery red, edematous, sometimes vesicular rash. A fulminating case developed in the left leg of a man whose veins had been harvested four months earlier for coronary artery bypass surgery.