The biosurgical wound debridement: Experimental investigation of efficiency and practicability

ABSTRACT The use of maggot therapy is experiencing a revival in the treatment of problem wounds. Although this alternative therapy is ancient, little scientific research has been aimed at standardizing this therapy. The purpose of our investigation was to determine the debridement efficiency of this...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wound repair and regeneration 2007-09, Vol.15 (5), p.756-761
Main Authors: Blake, Felix A. S., Abromeit, Norbert, Bubenheim, Michael, Li, Lei, Schmelzle, Rainer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Chronic Disease
Debridement - methods
Granulation Tissue - pathology
Larva
Muscle, Skeletal - pathology
Necrosis - therapy
Swine
Wound Healing - physiology
Wounds and Injuries - therapy
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Summary:ABSTRACT The use of maggot therapy is experiencing a revival in the treatment of problem wounds. Although this alternative therapy is ancient, little scientific research has been aimed at standardizing this therapy. The purpose of our investigation was to determine the debridement efficiency of this therapy, i.e., to compare the use of freely crawling maggots with maggots in a Biobag and to estimate the amount of maggots needed for debridement. We designed an artificial wound model and investigated the rate of decomposition of porcine tissue. Two application alternatives were compared, each being carried out either for 3 or for 4 days, (1) maggots that were allowed to crawl freely over the substrate and (2) maggots confined to a Biobag with no direct contact with the wound. We found that a single maggot was capable of debriding approximately 0.15 g of dead tissue per day. Assuming an absolute difference of
ISSN:1067-1927
1524-475X
DOI:10.1111/j.1524-475X.2007.00298.x