| REVIEW ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 4
| Issue : 1 | Page : 21-34 |
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Maggot debridement therapy: A practical review
Ashley Jordan1, Neeraj Khiyani2, Steven R Bowers3, John J Lukaszczyk4, Stanislaw P Stawicki5
1 Department of Surgery, St. Luke's University Health Network, Bethlehem, PA, USA
2 Medical School of Temple/St. Luke's University Hospital Campus, Bethlehem, PA, USA
3 Wound Care Center, St. Luke's University Health Network, Bethlehem, PA, USA
4 Department of Surgery, St. Luke's University Health Network; Wound Care Center, St. Luke's University Health Network, Bethlehem, PA, USA
5 Department of Research and Innovation, St. Luke's University Health Network, Bethlehem, PA, USA
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Stanislaw P Stawicki
Department of Research and Innovation, St. Luke's University Health Network, Bethlehem, PA 18015
USA
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/IJAM.IJAM_6_18
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Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) has a long and well-documented history. Once a popular wound care treatment, especially prior to the discovery of antibiotics, modern dressings or debridement techniques, MDT fell out of favor after the 1940s. With the increasing prevalence of chronic medical conditions and associated complex and difficult-to-treat wounds, new approaches have become necessary to address emerging issues such as antibiotic resistance, bacterial biofilm persistence and the high cost of advanced wound therapies. The constant search for a dressing and/or medical device that will control pain, remove bacteria/biofilm, and selectively debride necrotic wound material, all while promoting the growth of healthy new tissue, remains elusive. On review of the current literature, MDT comes very close to addressing all of the previously mentioned factors, while at the same time remaining cost-effective. Complications of MDT are rare and side effects are minimal. If patients and providers can look past the obvious anxiety associated with the management and presence of larvae, they will quickly see the benefits of this underutilized modality for healing multiple types of wounds.
The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medical knowledge, Patient care, Practice-based learning and improvement.
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