MAGGOT THERAPY: BACK TO THE FUTURE OF WOUND CARE

Global Wound Care Congress

September 12-13, 2016 San Antonio, USA

Aletha W. Tippett

Hope of Healing Foundation, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Maggot Therapy or Maggot Debridement Therapy is the medical use of live maggots (fly larvae) for cleaning non-healing wounds. In maggot debridement therapy, disinfected fly larvae are applied to the wound within special dressings. Medical grade maggots have three primary actions: they clean the wound by removing dead and infected tissue â�?�?debridementâ�?, they disinfect the wound (kill bacteria) and they speed the rate of healing. Wounds affect many people, often elderly or debilitated and over one third of hospice patients, with many severe wounds. Often these wounds need debridement due to infection, pain, sepsis, or gangrene. Patients usually are not candidates for surgical debridement, including amputation. Sometimes debridement is not seen as consistent with the desired palliative care. In this presentation multiple cases of the use of Phoenicia sericata larval therapy (maggot therapy) for wound debridement in hospice or debilitated patients are demonstrated.

Biography :

Email: tippettaw@fuse.net