Wound debridement: Lessons learned of when and how to remove "wild" maggots

Joshua W Elder; Casey A. Grover

doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2013.01.022

Wound debridement: Lessons learned of when and how to remove "wild" maggots

Joshua W Elder, Casey A. Grover

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Wounds, particularly chronic wounds, are a common presentation to the Emergency Department (ED), and in severe cases can contain maggots. Maggot debridement therapy is a popular technique for wound debridement, but is limited to the use of sterilized larvae due to concerns of contamination and invasion of "wild" maggots into healthy tissue. Wild maggots in chronic wounds, therefore, should be removed, yet there is no reported literature that describes a technique for their removal. Objective: This article presents a step-by-step approach for the safe removal of "wild" larvae in a wound using Yankauer suction. Case Report: We present a case of a homeless man presenting to the ED with a foot wound found to have "wild" maggots that required removal. Conclusion: The technique described in this article is a simple, safe, and efficient way for the Emergency Physician to remove "wild" larvae from wounds.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	585-587
Number of pages	3
Journal	Journal of Emergency Medicine
Volume	45
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2013.01.022
State	Published - Oct 1 2013
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Emergency Department
larvae
maggots
wound debridement

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Emergency Medicine

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10.1016/j.jemermed.2013.01.022

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Cite this

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