“My daughter underwent a finger joining treatment using leeches. Will this cause a problem for her later in life?”
My daughter's finger was cut off by accident when she was using a mixer in our kitchen, and her finger was joined back with the required treatment. But, we were surprised to learn that leeches were used during her treatment. Will this cause any problem for her in the future?
6 Answers
Greetings, I am pleased to hear of your daughter's successful digit replantation. Leeches have been used to treat patients far back in written history. There is NO long-term negative consequences of leech usage as you report. Regards, John John W. Sapp, M. D. [cid:a1249e97-d1ed-4ed3-9f5d-aa0ba0d65e9e] Tupelo Farm
No - medical leeches are quite frequently used to maintain venous outflow in the early time after a replantation or revascularization. They are actually very beneficial in promoting the recovery of normal circulation early on and should not cause any permanent problems.
Your daughter may have some residual cold intolerance or stiffness of the affected finger but this would be due to the original injury, not from the use of leeches. Leeches are often used in the case of venous congestion when there is insufficient venous outflow of the finger, buying time until venous outflow becomes re-established during the healing process. This is a common practice. The most likely complication from the use of leeches is infection from Aeromonas hydrophila. The incidence of infection is low.
Leeches are used commonly after finger reimplantation. Typically this does not cause any reaction later in life.
Leeches are used to remove blood from a part after reattachment when the bodies own circulation is not enough. They are used by surgeons well versed in their application after very technical procedures. WHile there is alway a chance of infection from a leech or from any outside source, odds are her doctors are more than well aware of that, I do not know of any long term issues with having had used leeches.
No. Leeches are often used after replanting digits to decrease venous congestion. This will not cause any problems in the future.
