Maggot Therapy - Donkey

Maggot therapy – treatment of a deep injection abscess. (Image courtesy of The Donkey Sanctuary)

The Donkey Sanctuary has had two successful experiences using sterile maggots to treat deep infected necrotic wounds in donkeys. Sterile larvae of the common greenbottle, Lucilia sericata, supplied by the Surgical Materials Testing Laboratory (SMTL) were used to debride wounds where conventional therapy had failed (Bell and Thomas 2001; Thiemann, 2003).

Literature Search

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Maggot Therapy in veterinary medicine publications

Biotherapy - is it just a fad? Lepage, O. M.; The North American Veterinary Conference, Gainesville, USA, Large animal. Proceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference, Orlando, Florida, USA, 16-20 January 2010, 2010, pp 191-194, 10 ref. - Full Text Publications

References

• Thiemann, A. (2008) Surgery In Svendsen, E.D., Duncan, J. and Hadrill, D. (2008) The Professional Handbook of the Donkey, 4th edition, Whittet Books, Chapter 16

• Bell, N.J., Thomas, S. (2001). ‘Use of sterile maggots to treat panniculitis in an aged donkey’. Veterinary Record 149. pp 768-770.
• Thiemann, A.K. (2003). ‘Treatment of a deep injection abscess using sterile maggots in a donkey’. World Wide Wounds website. November 2003 (www.worldwidewounds.com)

SURGERY - DONKEY WOUND MANAGEMENT - DONKEY

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