Unani treatment and leech therapy saved the diabetic foot of a patient from amputation
Case report published in Int Wound J (2016)
Abstract
Every 30 seconds, a lower limb amputation is carried out due to diabetes throughout the world. The mortality rate due to diabetic foot gangrene is just next to that of cancer. As tissue death cannot be reversed, surgical removal of the affected tissue (debridement) or amputation of the limb is the only treatment option left when gangrene has advanced. The present case study illustrates an option to treat poorly healing diabetic wounds with Unani medicine (blood purifier and deobstruent) besides hirudotherapy. The study was performed on a 60-year-old woman suffering from diabetic foot (on the left) grade 5 and facing the prospect of imminent amputation. The patient was having severe pain (80 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale) in the gangrenous foot and foul-smelling with necrosed areas. Wound dressing was done with unripe papaya as it has a very good role in clearing necrotising area and hirudotherapy was also used in poorly healing wounds. The pain score decreased to 0-10 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale within 20 days and no further pain relieving medication was required. Over a time interval of nearly 3·5 months, necrotic areas disappeared and the wound was completely healed.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Summary
60-year-old woman with grade 5 diabetic foot saved from amputation by Unani medicine and hirudotherapy with complete wound healing over 3.5 months.
Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy
This case report details the use of Unani medicine and hirudotherapy to treat a severe, poorly healing diabetic foot ulcer in a 60-year-old woman facing imminent amputation. The study is directly relevant to ASH's clinical domain, demonstrating the practical application of leech therapy alongside wound dressing with unripe papaya to clear necrotic areas. The combined treatment ultimately led to complete wound healing and significantly reduced pain over a 3.5-month period. However, this is a single case report documenting a combined therapeutic approach; the isolated clinical efficacy of hirudotherapy alone cannot be determined from this report, and no control group was involved.
Citation
Unani treatment and leech therapy saved the diabetic foot of a patient from amputation.
Zaidi SMA · International wound journal, 2016
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