Leeches in Medical Facilities
Leeches in Medical Facilities
In the 1980, medicinal leech therapy got a big boost by plastic surgeons who used leeches to relieve venous congenstion, especially in transplant surgery. "... Anyone who knows anything about replantation surgery has been using leeches since about 1980's" - says Dr. Donald Lalonde, plastic and reconstructive surgeon; National Review of Medicine, May 2008.
When appendages are re-attached following traumatic amputation, it is often possible to reconnect the larger arterial blood vessels, but not the thinner, more delicate venous vessels. The body will eventually develop the necessary venous connections to drain the area of oxygen-depleted blood; but if this does not occur rapidly enough, the pooling venous blood can produce enough swelling and pressure that fresh arterial blood may no longer be able to enter the re-connected limb. In this situation, leeches are used to drain the local blood and decompress the pressure within the grafted limb, otherwise at risk of necrosis.
This is taking place in medical facilities throughout the world.
A 1996 Meta-Analysis concluded that hirudotherapy saved 70-80% of grafted tissue that would otherwise have died.
ALA-MED HIRUDOTHERAPY CENTER
