Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Maggot therapy for serious horse wounds - does it work?
By Sherman, Ronald A et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2007·Department of Pathology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Maggot debridement therapy for serious horse wounds - a survey of practitioners.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Hoof disease and injuries are serious issues for horses, and a treatment called maggot debridement therapy (MDT) has been used to help with difficult wounds. A survey of veterinarians in the U.S. who have used this treatment found that between 1997 and 2003, 13 horses were treated with MDT when their wounds were infected or hard to reach with surgery. Many of these horses were limping, and some were thought to need euthanasia. After using maggot therapy, all but one horse improved enough to avoid euthanasia, and there were no serious side effects reported, aside from some discomfort during the treatment. This suggests that maggot therapy could be a helpful option for treating certain severe wounds in horses.
Abstract
Hoof disease and injuries are common and serious problems for equines. Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) has been used to treat problematic wounds in humans, but has been used only rarely in other animals. US veterinarians who had employed MDT were surveyed to investigate their reasons for the choice of this treatment and their clinical experiences with it. Between 1997 and 2003, 13 horses were treated by eight veterinarians who used MDT to control infection or debride wounds, which could not easily be reached surgically or were not responding to conventional therapy. Seven animals were lame, and six were expected to require euthanasia. Following maggot therapy, all infections were eradicated or controlled, and only one horse had to be euthanased. No adverse events were attributed to maggot therapy for any of these cases, other than presumed discomfort during therapy. The data collected suggest that maggot therapy could be useful for treating some serious equine hoof and leg wounds.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16831562/