ORIGINALLY POSTED ALMOST A YEAR AGO – I AM POSTING AGAIN TODAY because WordPress (the program that lets me write the blogs) is broken.  So, since I was going to write about Team Maggot and their arrival today for MT, I figured reposting this post would be a good second choice.  And, I forgot to take pics today so there’s that as well…

Today, the selfless Founder Warrior drove the 5+ hours round trip to help Mama Tess again.

This time she brought the medical maggots.

Why?

Well, MT has so much necrotic (dead) and infected material in her left foot from the horrible founder, inflammations and infection/abscesses, we are afraid of an infection migrating to her coffin bone.

We need to get that old, dead tissue out of there so she can heal – instead of her body trying to expel all that by itself and continuing to deform her foot in the process.

Especially since there is less circulation in her hooves due to the founder (remember that awful venogram…).  Antibiotics do not reach this area well… and maggots are quicker and less stressful for the horse.

For me, I just want her to get better.  Fast.  I want the infection to be gone.

So, bring in the little buggers!

These particular maggots are grown in a sterile environment.  Their entire goal is to eat necrotic tissue.  All of it.  Eat, eat, eat.  That’s all they do.  Eat and grow.

 

ABOUT MEDICAL MAGGOTS

The Founder Warrior bought these maggots from Monarch Labs.  They are the industry leader in medical maggots for use in humans and equines.

(Excerpt from the Monarch Lab website)

In maggot debridement therapy, germ-free (“disinfected”) larvae of therapeutic fly species (“medical grade maggots”) are used to treat and manage wounds in a procedure known as “maggot therapy.” The maggots are applied to the wound for 2 or 3 days within special dressings to keep the maggots from migrating. Since medicinal maggots can not dissolve or feed on healthy tissue, their natural instinct is to crawl elsewhere as soon as the wounds are clean, or the larvae are satiated.

The scientific literature identifies three primary actions of medical grade maggots on wounds:

• They debride (clean) the wound by dissolving dead and infected tissue with their proteolytic, digestive enzymes;
• They disinfect the wound (kill bacteria) by secreting antimicrobial molecules, by ingesting and killing microbes within their gut, and by dissolving biofilm;
• They stimulate the growth of healthy tissue.

HOW TO APPLY MAGGOTS TO A HORSE HOOF

(Excerpt from the Monarch Lab website)

The maggots have good access to necrotic tissue – Usually we are doing some degree of debridement prior to application of the maggots. Depending on the case this can range from a small hole in the sole of the foot to debridement of the third Phalanx. In the case of severe infections that communicate with the distal interphalangeal joint or the navicular bursa, a surgical drain can be placed and the maggots/dressing are placed at the egress of the drain. If the horse has a cast placed over the site of infection, due to instability of the hoof or distal interphalangeal joint, a small access hole is cut in the cast so the maggots can be placed and the gauze can be changed. In cases where foot casts are employed the maggots do an excellent job at keeping infection inside the cast under control.
The maggots are not compressed or suffocated in the wound – Since we deal exclusively with hoof problems, we must ensure that if the maggots are placed in the bottom of the foot they are not compressed to tightly when the horse is weight bearing. Occasionally, the defect in the sole of the hoof is large enough that we can place the maggots, along with the dressing in the wound and apply a heavy foot wrap. Otherwise a shoe is applied that has a plate that offers wound protection and can be removed in order to change the gauze and monitor the progress of the maggots. We typically change the gauze and check the wound every other day. For us, the maggots mature in anywhere from 2 days to 8 days, depending on the severity of the infection.
The nature of the infection indicates the application of maggots – Cases that do not respond to maggot therapy are often infections in which proteus vulgaris is cultured from the site, especially when highly resistant strains of proteus are cultured. In these cases will often use topical disinfectants and/or systemic and regional antibiotic therapy in order to change to bacterial population in the wound prior to or in conjunction with maggot therapy.
Once a good environment has been established for the maggots they are place in the wound with the small gauze that comes with them in the vial, then cotton gauze is loosely placed over the maggots and the appropriate protection is applied. As stated above the gauze is changed every other day and maggot therapy is continued until the wound was stopped draining and looks healthy.

 

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Example 2. Here is a set of images from Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital (Lexington, KY) illustrating penetrating hoof injuries, treated with maggot therapy.

 

MAGGOTS FOR MAMA TESS!

The Founder Warrior brought Mark, the local farrier who is studying under her, again to help with MT.

Mark had been telling his wife, Terry, all about Tess so she wanted to come along today.  And, thank goodness she did because we needed all hands on deck for this one!  (Horsegod bless these good humans for donating their time, energy and faith for MT…)

The FW instructed us on our duties while she was debriding MT’s hooves.  Luckily, the poultice wraps I had been applying continuously for the last several days in preparation did soften the soles and draw out much of the abscess.

The abscess holes are the places for the maggots to enter her hoof.

We wanted to make sure there were no chemicals of any kind left on her hoof that could kill the maggots.  So, we rinsed and soaked her hoof thoroughly.

FW taught Mark how to prepare the boot she would wear for the next 48 hours.  They cut out the toe of the pad we inserted into the boot.  This cutout toe would be the ‘break room’ for the maggots when they needed to come out for air and water.  If the hole wasn’t there, the maggots would suffocate.

The pad was inserted into the boot.  We had saline soaked gauze at the ready to cover the maggot gauze that we were going to insert into the largest sole opening – then wrap the whole thing and stick her foot into the boot.

And that is exactly what we did!

We had 1000 maggots in our container.  (Actually, the container said it had 1005 maggots and had the name of the woman who counted them right on the container.  Now THAT would be a great job to discuss at dinner parties…)

OLE!

Anyway, I didn’t take photos because we were so busy at this point.

Terry took the helm, feeding/distracting Tess – one pellet at a time…

The FW and Mark took the gauze full of fresh, baby maggots and inserted it into the clean abscess area.

My favorite part of this process was when the FW inserted her index finger into the maggot jar and scooped up the last of the maggots the way one would get frosting off of the cake bowl… Yum!  Then she boldly rubbed her finger’s contents onto the excess gauze and stuck it up in there.

Furiously, they wrapped the foot as MT was pushing to have her hoof back… ai ai yi, the stress!

But they did it!  Her foot was wrapped and inserted into the prepared boot!

We stepped back and were silent for a moment.  All of us, who have grown to love her so much, silently asked Horsegods and the Maggotgods to do their thing and save this very brave girl…

Shortly thereafter, this team of angels left us to brave the winter storm and head home.

CHEERLEADER FOR THE MAGGOT TEAM!

I snuck down to the barn a few hours later to check on MT.  She had been totally asleep when I arrived.

I looked at her boot and couldn’t help myself… “Go Maggots, Go!  E-A-T!  Eat!  EAT!  GET FAT, FAT, FAT!”

There were 1005 little, hungry warriors in there whose sole purpose was to get fat.

I wanted them to succeed.

And MT, well, she just wanted more shut-eye.

MT:  “Are you done?”

Me:  Yes, my girl, for tonight, we are done.  G’night maggots!  May you all survive to take pride in a job well done!

BIG ‘25% OFF’ JEWELRY SALE to benefit Mama Tess (she needs Team Maggot this week).

All jewelry on the JWP page is 25% off with shipping included!!

Some of you often ask after MT… you like to hear about MT and her progress.  So, today I thought I’d write a little bit.

Right now, she is pretty much maintaining with not much remarkable external progress.  Her feet are growing, as usual, but nothing earth shattering.  She still has bouts of abscesses and bouts of no abscesses.

I think she is healing from the inside out.

Why do I say that?  Well…I can’t really see what is healing right now, but I can feel it.

And, she looks like a million bucks for a 24 year-old chronically ill mare.  You’d never know it unless you watched her walk.  Standing there, she looks like she’s rockin’ it:  Dappled, ears up, muscle-toned with a fine topline.

It is quite incongruous that her feet are so sick but she looks so well.

WHAT DO I MEAN BY ‘FEELING’ HER HEALING?

Well, to me, she seems so much happier and brighter.  I mean, I’ve always felt that she was bright… but now, she is a force.

It is true, Tess is totally lame, but she seems to believe in herself so much more.  MT is hearty and happy and willing – even more than before – which I didn’t know was possible.

Now, when I look at her, I see a slow-moving patient who is raring to go.

I’ve felt so solid about her, that I’ve allowed her to stay out all night.  I haven’t been locking her inside of her veranda and barn at night.   I’m letting her spread her wings.

It is as if the more confidence I have in her, the more she has in herself.

And do you know what?… Yesterday morning, I looked out just as the sun was rising and Tess was right under our bedroom window, scavenging around for whatever she could find.

Wow!  She was up early and on the move!  Totally lame, but going for it!

WHAT’S NEXT?

I don’t know what is next.  Hopefully, her feet will keep growing out and the abscesses will wane.  If not, we’ll send in a healthy company of maggot soldiers to help her along.

But for now, it seems that she’s been doing some soul work.  She seems to be releasing a lot of the worry and stress.  She’s hanging around, being a horse – not worrying about her health.

In fact, the other morning, I was late to feed and she actually pushed me – hard.  I was so taken aback and thrilled at the same time!

That’s my girl.

So again, I walk in faith with my mare… heal the soul and the body will follow.

 

EVERY CENT OF THE PROCEEDS VIA  JEWELRY WITH A PURPOSE  THIS  MONTH WILL GO TO YANAHA.  Click here to view via the JWP website.  Click here to view via the JWP FB page!