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Ed Yeates ReportingThe Food and Drug Administration gives a green light to new medical therapies all the time. But its latest approval may give you the "willies."
Who can forget the scene from the classic "The African Queen," when Bogey pulls himself from the water covered with leeches. While detestable, slimy creatures in the movies, the FDA says they're now just what the doctor ordered. And orders they are coming in the form of prescriptions to the University of Utah Hospital Pharmacy Services.
James Jorgenson, Director, U of U Hospital Pharmacy Services: “These particular leeches actually come from England and they’re distributed by a US company in South Carolina.”
Ancient blood sucking creatures now licensed as a medical device. Why? In many cases they can save a patient's reattached finger or limb that's sewn back on after an injury - like the fingers of Scott Thornton, severed in an accident while he was working on the new San Francisco Bay Bridge.
Scott Thornton, Iron Worker: “She went and got the leech. She put it on my finger, left it there for about 40 minutes.”
The arteries in the fingers generally reattach before the veins. While the blood flows INTO the finger efficiently, it doesn't flow OUT too well.
James Jorgenson: "So to prevent the digit from engorging and swelling, you attach the leeches and the leeches can remove the excess blood."
Of course, the FDA approval is for a special leech that's raised in a medical environment. It's bacteria free, and the bite is usually painless. In fact, leeches excrete an anesthetic like compound and an anti-coagulant so their hosts often don't even know they're there.
But still, the reaction from patients...
James Jorgenson: "Much like you would expect. ‘Ooooh, I just went through this great surgical procedure. Marvelous. I've had my finger reattached, and now we're going to save it with a leech.’"
These leeches are not the only newly approved medical device. The FDA is also licensing specially bred maggots to get rid of a patient's dead and dying tissue.
