Medical leech therapy (Hirudotherapy)

Positive outcome of medical leeches (hirudotherapy) for venous congestion.

Hirudotherapy in veterinary medicine.

The saliva of medicinal leeches, e.g., Hirudo medicinalis and Hirudo verbana commonly used in hirudotherapy, contains more than 100 bioactive substances with various therapeutic effects, including anticoagulant, vasodilator, thrombolytic, anti-inflammatory and anaesthetic properties. Recently, leeches have been used very successfully in veterinary medicine to treat many diseases of animals, esp...

Hirudotherapy /Leech therapy: Applications and Indications in Surgery

Hirudotherapy (HT) is the application of medicinal leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) for therapeutic use. It is one of the oldest remedies, being employed by various medicinal practitioners. HT involves the attachment of cultured leeches onto the affected areas. Leech therapy involves an initial bite, which is usually a painless bite, followed by the sucking of 5 and 15 ml of blood. Its major therap...

Recommendations for the Use of Leeches in Reconstructive Plastic Surgery

A written informed consent should be obtained from the patient before hirudotherapy is initiated. The patients should be treated each day of leech therapy with anti-Aeromonas antibiotics. Leeches should be applied on the darker spots of the reattached body parts or flaps. Usually 1-10 leeches are used for each treatment, while at the beginning, the patient might need two or more treatments per ...

The Relationship between Explanation and Patient Compliance in Hirudotherapy

BACKGROUND The use of leeches can effectively increase the salvage rate of flap congestion. However, the first reaction from patients and carers in using leeches in clinical fields is strong aversion. This can be due to the fact that development of our culture from agriculture to industrial society, coming across leeches became fairly rare. Also because of the biological traits that leeches car...