Its called Maggot therapy. Its a type of biotherapy involving the introduction of live, disinfected maggots (fly larvae) into the non-healing skin and soft tissue wound of a human or animal for the purpose of cleaning out the necrotic (dead) tissue within a wound (debridement) and disinfection.
Pressure ulcers (bed sores), venous stasis ulcers (common in people with leg swelling, varicose veins, or blood clots), neuropathic foot ulcers (often found in diabetics), post-surgery wounds, or traumatic injury wounds can all benefit.
How does it work?Maggots can’t properly digest living tissue. They eat only necrotic, or dead, tissue. These medical-grade maggots have the natural instinct to crawl away from living skin to find dead matter, which they consume before moving on to find more necrotic tissue. Once the necrotic tissue is all gone, they will leave the host body on their own in search of other sources. When used for maggot therapy, these larvae are place on the wound site for two to three days, typically contained within the affected area by a wound dressing that keeps them from migrating.
One of the greatest benefits of maggot therapy is “debridement,” or cleansing wounds of dead and infected tissue. But maggots also release enzymes that help disinfect the wound, stimulate the growth of healthy tissue, and dissolve biofilm,which is a collection of microbial cells that form on the surface of wounds, making it difficult for antimicrobial agents to enter.
