Maggot Therapy

Other names : maggot debridement therapy (MDT), larval therapy, larva therapy, larvae therapy, biodebridement or biosurgery.
Maggot Therapy is a type of biotherapy involving the introduction of live, disinfected maggots (fly larvae) into the non-healing skin and soft tissue wound(s) of a human or animal for the purpose of cleaning out the necrotic (dead) tissue within a wound (debridement) and disinfection.

Special Precautions of Maggot Therapy

While maggot therapy in a controlled hospital environment can be a useful method of treating difficult wounds, patients should not try this at home. Uncontrolled maggots in large numbers can lead to infestation, infection and other major complications.

Health Benefits and uses of Maggot Therapy are

• The use of medicinal maggots, sometimes called maggot debridement therapy, was first widely reported during the time of Napoleon. His general surgeon reportedly used maggots as a technique of cleaning soldiers' battlefield wounds. Maggot therapy was also a common practice during the Civil War and World War I.
• Scientific studies on medicinal maggot use began in the 1920s. These studies revealed that maggots helped clean dirty and necrotic wounds by feeding on the dead tissue while leaving the healthy tissue unaffected. During the 1930s, thousands of surgeons used maggots to effectively treat chronic or infected wounds such as abscesses, burns and even bone infections. The use of maggots sharply declined in the 1940s with the introduction of penicillin. Doctors and patients could now replace the unpleasant creepy-crawlies with a simple medication. However, with the advent of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, many physicians have returned to maggots as a viable therapeutic option.
• Today, specially prepared maggots, typically of the green bottle fly, are used to "debride" wounds, feeding on sick tissue so healthy cells can move in and further infection is avoided. Maggot therapy was common in the United States in the 1930s but was replaced by antibiotics in the following decade or so. Now, with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria including MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, maggot therapy is getting a second look. Studies supporting the use of medicinal maggots have continued through today. Most recently, a study published in the Archives of Dermatology found that maggot therapy was a more effective treatment than conventional surgical debridement during the first week in 119 people with non-healing wounds. Another study by the American Diabetics Association found that maggot therapy was more effective and efficient in debriding non-healing foot and leg ulcers in male diabetic veterans than was continued conventional care.