Maggot Therapy or Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT) and the Healing of Wounds

Maggot therapy or MDT can also help diabetics help treat the illness the healing of wounds.

Maggots

Maggot therapy can be applied to cure diabetics. Also known as larva/larval/larvae therapy or Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT), biosurgery or biodebridement, is a type of therapy that involves disinfected fly larvae which is live called maggots to clean the necrotic tissue in a wound (debridement). It is been said that maggots have been used for wound healings in the past especially by Maya Indians and Australia’s Aboriginal tribes.

It has been said that during warfare, maggot therapy were used by physicians to heal soldiers wounds and that less mortality and morbidity was observed. One of these noted military physicians was Baron Dominique Larrey, Napoleon’s general surgeon. He reported in 1798-1801 during Egyptian campaign of France in Syria, that some fly species only destroy dead tissues and have positive wound healing effects. A medical officer of American Civil War Dr. Joseph Jones also noted that maggot therapy or MDT can clean and heal wounds faster and better than any other agent, and that they have saved lots of lives.

Dr. William S. Baer, an orthopedic surgeon during World War I was aware of the maggots’ effective wound healing. He observed a soldier who had large flesh wounds in the scrotum and abdomen and compound femur fractures, was left for several days but was able to sustain. Upon arrival in the hospital, he had no fever despite exposure to elements for a long period of time, and without water and food. When his clothes were removed, they found that he is in maggot therapy (MDT) with thousands of maggots were seen filling the wounds. When these maggots were detached, they were surprised to see no bare bone and the surrounding wound areas were covered with beautiful pink tissues that anyone could not have imagined.

Maggot therapy and diabetes

For diabetes, maggot therapy can be used to treat wounds in legs and feet. A study had been conducted with patients who had leg and foot ulcers who failed conventional therapy. A comparison was made between traditional therapy and maggot therapy. For 20 patients who had ulcers that are non-healing, 6 had their wounds treated conventionally, 6 with maggot therapy then 8 conventionally first then maggot after.

After 14 days, those treated conventional ly had no debridement while those with maggot therapy had their necrotic tissue decreased by about 4.1 cm2 (P = 0.02). After 5 weeks, those treated conventionally still had 33% of their surface covered with necrotic tissue while those with MDT -treated wounds were already debrided (P=0.001) just even after 4 weeks.

They then conclude that maggot therapy treatment heals wounds faster and even promote quick granulation tissue growth. Maggot therapy is more efficient in debriding non-healing leg and foot ulcers in diabetics than the conventional care.