In maggot debridement therapy (also known as maggot therapy, larva therapy, larval therapy, biodebridement or biosurgery), disinfected fly larvae are applied to the wound for 2 or 3 days within special dressings to keep them from migrating. The literature identifies three primary actions of medical grade maggots on wounds:
- They clean the wounds by dissolving dead and infected tissue ("debridement");
- They disinfect the wound (kill bacteria);
- They speed the rate of healingHistory of Maggot Therapy
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The first modern clinical studies of maggot therapy were initiated in 1989, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, and at the University of California, Irvine, to answer the following questions:
- "Is maggot therapy still useful today?"
- "Should maggot therapy be used as an adjunct to other treatments, not merely as a last resort?"
- "How does maggot therapy compare to other treatments at our disposal?"