Evaluating the larval therapy method in wound bed preparation and its effect on preventing the skin grafts rejection

Background: Burns are wounds that are prone to infection due to the loss of arteries in the burned area and lack of blood supply to it. Larval therapy is one of the old methods of treatment of burn that despite its relatively wide use in many countries of the world and also, its high efficiency, the limited studies have been performed about it in Iran. So, this study aimed to evaluate the larval therapy method in wound bed preparation and preventing the skin grafts rejection.Materials and Methods: This study is an applied research which was performed on a 43-year-old male patient at Shahid Motahari Accident and Burn Hospital, Tehran. During sleep, the patient s right ankle becomes contacted to an electric heater and burns. Larval therapy was carried out in three separate 48-hour sessions using sterile Lucilia sericata larvae. To detect wound bacterial contamination, the sampling was done by the sterile swab after each larval therapy sessions.Results: After larval therapy, it was observed that necrotic tissue was removed gradually, and granular tissues were formed. Also, it observed that the wound bed was prepared for a skin graft. The patient was discharged after surgery and complete monitoring showed no sign of skin graft rejection.Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated the efficacy of larval therapy in providing a suitable wound bed for the skin graft. Considering the efficacy of this method, it is recommended to use larval therapy as a proper treatment in burn wounds and further studies are recommended to develop this treatment in the our country