william s. baer was the doctor who used maggot debridement therapy in world war i.
who was the doctor who used maggot debridement therapy in world war i?
william s. baer
during world war i, william s. baer, an orthopedic surgeon, noticed that a soldier left for several days on the battlefield who had sustained compound fractures of the femur and large flesh wounds and arrived at the hospital with maggots infesting his wounds had no fever or other signs of infection and survived his injuries, which would normally have been fatal. after the war baer began using maggot therapy at boston children's hospital in massachusetts.





















































there were reports that american prisoners of war of the japanese in world war ii resorted to maggot therapy to treat severe wounds.
maggot therapy
live maggots of certain species of flies have been used since antiquity for wound debridement. (use of the wrong species would invite pathological myiasis.) in controlled and sterile settings overseen by medical practitioners, maggot therapy introduces live, disinfected maggots into non-healing skin or soft wounds of a human or animal. the only maggots cleared for marketing in the united states are larvae of calliphorid flies of the species phaenicia sericata (formerly known as "lucilia sericata"). this species of maggots is most widely used in the world as well but it is unclear whether it is the only species cleared for marketing outside of the united states. they feed on the dead or necrotic tissue, leaving sound tissue largely unharmed. studies have also shown that maggots kill bacteria. there are three midgut lysozymes of "p. sericata" that have been shown to show antibacterial effects in maggot debridement therapy. the study demonstrated that the majority of gram-positive bacteria were destroyed in vivo within the particular section of the "p. sericata" midgut where lysozymes are produced. during the passage through the intestine of the maggots, the ability of bacteria to survive drastically decreased, implying the antibacterial action of the three midgut lysozymes. as of 2008, maggot therapy was being used in around 1,000 medical centers in europe and over 300 medical centers in the united states.
maggot