Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergy, University of Heidelberg, University Medicine Mannheim, Germany.
J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2010 Nov;8(11):881-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1610-0387.2010.07473.x.
Leeches were used for medical purposes as long as 2 000 years ago in ancient Egypt. In recent years the use of medicinal leeches became rather popular again, e. g. to improve blood circulation in ischemic tissue after reconstructive plastic surgery.
In a single center, retrospective study 23 consecutive cases were analyzed in which medicinal leeches had been used therapeutically after plastic reconstructive surgery. All cases were categorized regarding the indication for leech therapy, the onset, the duration, the number of leeches and the number of sessions.
Among the group of patients there were 7 female and 16 male patients with a mean age of 73 ± 14 years (48-94 years) altogether. The main indications were venous congestion (12/23; 52 %) and hematoma (9/23; 39 %). Two cases were diagnosed with a necrosis of the tip of the flap and therefore received leech therapy (2/23; 9 %). The average number of leeches was 2.6 leeches/session, the number of sessions was 1.7 ± 0.8. 20/23 patients (87 %) showed a restitutio ad integrum after leech therapy, in 3/23 patients (13 %) a necrosis of the tip of the flap could not be prevented. A clinical improvement was noticed after an average of 1.1 ± 0.3 days.
The early application of medicinal leeches can improve local hemodynamic conditions. Leech therapy is a simple and effective method; the cost efficiency of the treatment is high.
早在 2000 年前的古埃及，蚂蟥就被用于医疗目的。近年来，药用蚂蟥的使用再次变得相当流行，例如，在整形重建手术后改善缺血组织的血液循环。
在一个单中心回顾性研究中，分析了 23 例连续接受药用蚂蟥治疗的整形重建手术后患者。所有病例均根据蚂蟥治疗的适应证、发病时间、持续时间、蚂蟥数量和治疗次数进行分类。
在患者组中，有 7 名女性和 16 名男性，平均年龄为 73 ± 14 岁（48-94 岁）。主要适应证为静脉淤血（12/23；52%）和血肿（9/23；39%）。有 2 例被诊断为皮瓣尖端坏死，因此接受了蚂蟥治疗（2/23；9%）。平均每个疗程使用 2.6 条蚂蟥，治疗次数为 1.7 ± 0.8 次。20/23 例（87%）患者在蚂蟥治疗后恢复正常，3/23 例（13%）患者无法预防皮瓣尖端坏死。平均 1.1 ± 0.3 天后，临床情况得到改善。
早期应用药用蚂蟥可以改善局部血液动力学状况。蚂蟥治疗是一种简单有效的方法，治疗的成本效益高。
