Treatment of a Post-Operative Infected Wound of a Cat with Maggot Debridement Therapy

Maggot debridement therapy (MDT), which is an ancient remedy, has been reintroduced and commonly used to promote wound healing in humans. However, its use in the veterinary field has still remained limited. The aim of this case study was to evaluate the effectiveness of MDT on a non-healing post-operative infected wound covering the abdominal and inguinal regions of a 3-year-old male cat. For MDT, sterile first and second stage larvae of Lucilia sericata were applied to the infected wound for the first time on the 10th day after laparotomy. A total of five larva applications were performed during the MDT process. From the first to the last MDT application, the large and infected wound gradually shrank and healed. Sterile L. sericata larvae were successfully used in the treatment of a chronic and infected wound that did not respond to antibiotics in a cat in this case study. It is considered that the use of MDT for promoting healing in chronic necrotic and infected wounds will increase because of supplying effective, cost-efficient and simple wound care in future.