Maggots Crawling Back Into Favor

A few months ago, SPM reported that pharmaceutical leeches were back on the hopital scene (FDA: Approve This Sucka!). Turns out that the first live animal therapy to be approved was not leeches after all- but maggots!

Those loveable, pus-colored, worms made infamous by horror movies and gross-out pics have actually fallen back into favor. once chamiponed by Civil War surgeons, the little critters have been know for years to debride wounds faster and more efficiently than the best scalpel-wielding intern.

Professor of Pathology at UC Irvine, Dr. Ronald Sherman, has published numerous studies on the use of theraputic maggots and found 80 percent of maggot-treated wounds had all the dead tissue removed, compared with 48 percent of wounds surgically debrided. Sherman has also demonstrated that the larvae stimulate new tissue growth and produce anti-bacterial substances that prevent new infection.

Despite their January FDA approval, the vermin have been slow to catch on as patients are more willing to have their wounds cleaned by a scalpel than a flesh-eating worm.

Professor of Pathology at UC Irvine, Dr. Ronald Sherman, has published numerous studies on the use of theraputic maggots and found 80 percent of maggot-treated wounds had all the dead tissue removed, compared with 48 percent of wounds surgically debrided. Sherman has also demonstrated that the larvae stimulate new tissue growth and produce anti-bacterial substances that prevent new infection.

Despite their January FDA approval, the vermin have been slow to catch on as patients are more willing to have their wounds cleaned by a scalpel than a flesh-eating worm.

How are they used exactly? The maggots, like the leeches are employed in cycles. The number of maggots required is based directly on wound size. They are dropped into the wound and covered with a mesh (probably to prevent them from migrating to the other patients). 48-72 hours later, the dressing is removed and the maggots are removed from the wound. How many great practical jokes could you play with that dressing change?

So next time you see a diabetic foot ulcer or Stage IV decub, try telling you patient that you would like to drop some flesh-eating critters into their wound and see how they respond. Then tell them to StopPagingYOu.com!