Saving diabetic foot ulcers from amputation by surgical debridement and maggot therapy: A case report

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: A diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the major diabetes complications that may lead to limb amputation. Amputation can have profound physical and psychological effects on an individual's life. Nowadays, the prevention of limb amputation and treatment of DFUs are known as the major health challenges. CASE PRESENTATION: The present case report is of a 72-year-old woman with a 20-year history of type 2 diabetes who has had asymmetrical and superficial DFUs with sizes of 6 × 5 cm and 3 × 3 cm on the heel and the sole of the right foot, respectively. The ulcers were infected by S. aureus and E. coli. The patient had been hospitalized several times for receiving treatment, and not only the ulcers had not been healed, but also they had considerably extended so that the risk of foot amputation had been greatly increased. The patient was transferred to our wound care service. After conducting one session of surgical debridement, the patient underwent ten sessions of maggot therapy (one session every two days) using sterile Lucilia sericata. After about six months, the patient's DFUs were completely healed. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: DFU can affect a patient's quality of life and lead to infection, sepsis, amputation, and even patient death. Therefore, using effective treatment approaches is very important for the management of DFUs. CONCLUSION: The combined use of surgical debridement and maggot therapy is a safe and effective method for improving diabetic foot ulcers and preventing amputation.