What is Maggot Debridement Therapy?

Maggot debridement therapy involves the use of specific maggot or fly larvae species which have been bred in a laboratory. Placed inside the wound, these live maggots are used to clean, disinfect, and help to heal open wounds. Maggot debridement therapy tends to be more frequently used when conventional treatments have failed to heal a wound. Maggot debridement therapy can be used on both animals and humans and has a long, fairly well-documented history. It is generally a painless procedure.

Debridement means to remove dead and diseased tissue, which is the primary function of the maggots used in this type of therapy. They secrete an anti-bacterial substance which dissolves the problematic tissue and kills any harmful bacteria present. The majority of the liquidized tissue is eaten by the maggots. These tiny creatures have no teeth and do not bite off pieces of tissue; the treatment should cause no pain or discomfort. They have small bumps on their bodies which help to rub off dead or infected tissue as the maggots move around the wound.

A new environment is created in the wound site because the dead or diseased tissue is removed and any bacteria killed; this promotes faster healing with fewer or no drugs. The benefits of certain maggot species in wounds was recorded as far back as the 15th century; maggot debridement therapy was widely used up until the introduction of antibiotics and the development of new surgical techniques in the 1940s. This procedure is once again gaining in popularity, primarily as a last resort treatment, because of the increasing resistance of bacteria and infections to antibiotics.

Maggot debridement therapy is often used to treat large, long-term ulcers and problematic surgical wounds. There is an argument among the scientific and medical communities surrounding the appropriateness of maggot debridement therapy. Some say that if maggot debridement therapy is so effective, it should be used as a frontline or early intervention procedure instead of as a last resort. If this therapy is used in the early stages of wound treatment, it is further argued that recovery time would be much faster and fewer drugs would need to be administered. This could improve patient health, reduce doctor visits and hospital stays, and save a substantial amount of money.

The most commonly used maggot species appears to be green blow flies Phaenicia sericata, which will not eat or dissolve clean, healthy flesh. Only specific maggot species which have been bred in reputable laboratories can be used in maggot debridement therapy. Some maggot species will eat living tissue, and some may even burrow into healthy flesh, which is one reason why only surgical-grade maggots should be used. Another danger of using maggots not provided by a reputable laboratory is that the maggots may carry harmful or potentially lethal bacteria which would then be introduced to the wound.