Veterinary Wound Healing Association 5th Congress, Hannover, Germany. May 10-12 2001
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| BIOSURGERY (LUCILIA SERICATA) IN LARGE ANIMALS: INITIAL EXPERIENCE. Kerstin Gerlach, G. Mayer, Kathrin Rasch, T. Leupold, J. Ferguson University Leipzig, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Large Animal Surgery An den Tierkliniken 21, 04103 Leipzig Phone: 00493419738250 Fax: 00493419738269 email: kgerlach@vetmed.uni-leipzig.de Wound healing problems in large animals continue to be a problem in practice. This is a particular problem, following wounds and wound dehiciens in the distal extremities associated with exuber granulation tissue production. Treatment even over long periods is often expensive and unsatisfactory requiring absence from sports competition in the treatment period. It is often necessary to treat this wounds under general anesthesia resulting in a greater risk and higher costs for the owner. In addition the increasing restrictions on antibiotic, chemical and topical wound medications play an increasingly important role. These factors continued interest in alternative methodologies for wound treatment. The use of maggots has long been an established and succesful method for teating chronic wounds in man and recently undergoing in renaissance suggesting that this wound treatment modality might be suitable for use in animals. We investigated the use of sterile maggots (Lucilia sericata, Biomondeâ) in one bovine and two equine patients with wound healing problems. We report on our experiences of various factors affecting the length of maggot application and types the wound on wound healing of these patients. The use of maggots in wound therapy in large animals utilizes the principles of debridment, antibacterial effect and stimulation on granulation tissue production. Problems encountered included containment of the maggots to the wound surface, particularly in wounds, located in the distal extremities. These problems were overcome using restrictive bandaging techniques in affected areas. It was observed that the maggots, normally requiring an optimal oxygen source, function best in deeper rather than superficial wounds where minimal pressure is required. Our initial observation on the use of maggots in the treatment of problematic wounds suggest these modality could provide an effective supplement to current wound techniques and should be investigated further in more controlled studies utilizing larger patient numbers. Return to index of Abstracts | About the VWHA |