Man’s foot with giant burn hole saved by maggots

A diabetic man who suffered severe burns when he fell asleep against a radiator has revealed maggots saved his foot from amputation.

James Murray was hospitalised after the injury he sustained in June became badly infected and he was left with limited treatment options.

Surgeons suggested ‘larval therapy’ – a stomach-churning procedure that involves placing 400 live maggots in a tea bag-like pouch onto the wound.

The creepy-crawlies feasted on the dead tissue and within four days cleaned the 45-year-old’s wound through the mesh. 

James, from Louth, Lincolnshire, said that only now, five months after his ordeal, has the four-inch hole in his foot finally closed up – which he credits to the tiny maggots’ cleaning prowess.

Former factory worker James said: ‘When they told me what they were planning to do I thought it was a bit weird and worried whether I would feel them crawling around on my foot.

Diabetic James Murray, from Lincolnshire, was hospitalised after the burns injury in June

His foot became badly infected and he was left with limited treatment options

His foot became badly infected and he was left with limited treatment options

He was due to undergo an operation  to remove the damaged tissue but started convulsing after suffering an adverse reaction to the general anaesthetic

He was due to undergo an operation to remove the damaged tissue but started convulsing after suffering an adverse reaction to the general anaesthetic

The 45-yera-old said that only now, five months later, the four-inch hole in his foot finally closed up

The 45-yera-old said that only now, five months later, the four-inch hole in his foot finally closed up

WHAT IS LARVAL THERAPY? 

Larval debridement therapy, also known as biosurgery, can sometimes be used instead of conventional surgery to remove the dead tissue.

Certain types of fly larvae are ideal for this because they feed on dead and infected tissue but leave healthy tissue alone.

They also help fight infection by releasing substances that kill bacteria and stimulate the healing process.

Maggots used for larval therapy are specially bred in a laboratory using eggs that have been treated to remove bacteria.

The maggots are placed on the wound and covered with gauze, under a firm dressing, which keeps them on the wound (and out of sight).

After a few days, the dressing is cut away and the maggots are removed.

 NHS Choices

‘My foot was badly burned and infected and my options were limited. Due to my health condition [type 2 diabetes] I didn’t feel it properly which was lucky.

‘I’m not a squeamish person so the thought of it didn’t bother me that much, but looking at the pictures of my foot I knew something needed to be done as there was a real possibility of me losing my foot.’

‘I couldn’t feel them’

James was due to undergo an operation at Hull Royal Infirmary to remove the damaged tissue but started convulsing after suffering an adverse reaction to the general anaesthetic.

Medical staff then suggested using the maggots as they are able to clean infected areas without harming healthy tissue – effectively performing a kind of microsurgery.

James said: ‘I had to stay in hospital until the maggots, which are specially bred, arrived.

‘They were placed on my bare foot in a tiny little bag which looks like a teabag and were then wrapped in bandages.

'When they told me what they were planning to do I thought it was a bit weird and worried whether I would feel them crawling around on my foot,' said James

The maggots were placed on his bare foot in a tiny little bag which looks like a teabag

‘When they told me what they were planning to do I thought it was a bit weird and worried whether I would feel them crawling around on my foot,’ said James

James said the wound had gone from 'really black' to clean looking within just four days

James said the wound had gone from ‘really black’ to clean looking within just four days

‘They then nibbled through the perforation – it’s amazing how quickly they do it.

‘I couldn’t feel them munching on the skin, but as far as I was concerned as long as it did the job I didn’t care.

‘The wound had gone from being really black to clean looking and the maggots looked a lot bigger than they did when they went on.’

After the maggots were removed from James’ foot, a nurse visited twice a week for ten weeks to change the dressing and keep the wound clean as it healed.

Certain types of fly larvae are ideal because they feed on dead and infected tissue but leave healthy tissue alone

Certain types of fly larvae are ideal because they feed on dead and infected tissue but leave healthy tissue alone

James said: ‘The nurses said, after I had the treatment, that there was a real possibility that I could have lost my foot.

‘My foot has slowly but surely closed up, it’s only in the last two week that the hole has completely disappeared.

‘Because diabetics generally don’t heal very well they’re pleased with how I’ve done.

‘I’m just being more careful now – I’ve still got my foot and all my toes so I’m very lucky.’

Quicker healing

Tissue viability matron for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Angela Oswald said: ‘Larval therapy is a relatively simple treatment which is only used for specific types of wound containing dead tissue.

‘It’s a treatment which is most commonly used by our teams in the care of vascular and diabetes patients, and can help to return a wound to a stage where it begins to heal much more quickly than traditional dressings.

‘Larval therapy is something we have been using to treat wounds in Hull for more than 20 years and is an extremely useful treatment option, especially in light of other issues such as rising antibiotic resistance.’ 

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