Tagged: medicine

A medical procedure that goes back thousands of years is enjoying a resurgence: leeching. The segmented worms are used primarily in microsurgeries like limb reattachments and plastic surgery.

At the Mercy Springfield pharmacy in Springfield, MO leeches are kept in a jar in a refrigerator.

Leeches are classified as medical devices by the US Food and Drug Administration and about 20 medical grade leeches that are kept in case they’re needed, which is usually once or twice a year.

Maggots, a method that some might consider old-fashioned, are being used to treat wounds that won’t heal, in plastic surgery and in limb reattachments at a hospital in Branson.

Liliane Sparks of Hollister has health problems that prevent her from using a hyperbaric chamber to help heal her wounds. But without the proper treatment of the deep wounds on her feet, she faced amputation. Her doctor, Bob Dorsey at CoxHealth in Branson, suggested maggot debridement therapy.

Dr. Gary Yarbrough has practiced family medicine in small towns for 30 years.  In that time he's met some memorable people.