The Effects of Live Leech (Hirudo Medicinalis) Therapy on Diabetic Foot: a Clinical Case Report

Abstract

Purpose : A clinical case of diabetic foot-wound repair using Hirudo medicinalis therapy and its application is reported and discussed. Methods : The subject was a sixty-six-year-old woman diagnosed with a non-healing wound indicating the amputation of her right diabetic foot. Instead, Hirudo medicinalis therapy was performed twelve times over forty days, twice a week. The transition of wound closure was observed with the naked eye, and the plethysmogram was measured at the beginning and end of the treatment period. Results : The wound contracted with decreased exudate, collagen-like connective tissue sprouted, and then the wound gradually closed. The initial value (-0.08) of the dicrotic elastic index rose to -0.03. Conclusion : Hirudo medicinalis therapy had a positive effect on the wound repair, without a negative effect on the circulation, allowing the foot to be saved. It is necessary to investigate its wound repair mechanism for the further development of the Sahyul method.

Keywords

• Hirudo medicinalis;
• diabetic foot;
• wound repair;
• plethysmogram;
• Sahyul