The use of leeches in distal digital replantation

Over the past 18 years we have operated on 50 patients who had sustained distal amputation of fingers. Their average age was 30 years (range 2-72 years). Replantation of radial digits on the right hand was most common and the thumb was involved in nearly half the cases in our series. Out of the 50 cases we were able to repair both arteries in 35 patients and only one artery in the other 15. Regarding veins, two were anastomosed in 12, only one in 23 and none in 15 because of the severity of the contusion or the very distal site of replantation. Although early arterial thrombosis usually leaves no solution other than reoperation, venous complications can be relieved by ancillary methods such as leeches which we first used in 1976. We encountered a venous problem in 16 (32%) out of the 50 cases. In three cases a venous anastomosis had been performed, but in 13 others it proved impossible. If congestion was mild, paraungeal or pulpar incision provided some relief because of repeated topical application of heparin and systemic heparinization. If congestion was severe, leeches were used on average for 6 days at a frequency of four to six leeches a day. All cases where leeches were used could be salvaged. One can assess through this sequence that the use of leeches in distal digital replantation has improved the survival rate by 26%.

Resumen tomado de PubMed (NCBI) para el registro citado, en el idioma original. La versión de referencia es la de la publicación original.

El resumen se deja sin traducir para conservar la redacción original de los autores.

Over 18 years, 50 patients underwent distal finger replantation, with venous complications occurring in 32% of cases. When congestion was severe, leeches were applied 4 to 6 times daily for about 6 days, and all leech-treated cases were salvaged, improving survival rate by 26%.

Explore cómo esta investigación se conecta con la práctica clínica

Más estudios revisados por pares en la categoría «Literatura clínica».

• Leech Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis — The Landmark RCT — Michalsen et al. (2003)
• Leech-Assisted Flap Salvage — Systematic Review of 277 Cases — Whitaker et al. (2012)
• Efectos de la hirudoterapia sobre las funciones hepáticas, el perfil lipídico y la sensibilidad a la insulina en ratas con síndrome metabólico — Bilden A et al. (2026)
• Eficacia y seguridad de la hirudoterapia para mejorar los parámetros de calidad espermática en la infertilidad masculina: un ensayo controlado aleatorizado — Abtahi-Forooshani M et al. (2026)
• Congestión venosa de un colgajo sural reverso manejada con éxito con enoxaparina en un paciente varón con lesión traumática por aplastamiento del pie: un caso clínico — Velasco-Bustamante J et al. (2026)
• Investigación de los efectos terapéuticos del tratamiento con sanguijuelas medicinales sobre la lesión por isquemia-reperfusión de la extremidad inferior — Ünal K et al. (2026)
• Eficacia de la terapia con sanguijuelas medicinales en diversas aplicaciones clínicas: un estudio exhaustivo de Azerbaiyán — Farzali S et al. (2025)
• Hirudoterapia en cirugía reconstructiva: casos clínicos y revisión — Heinz P et al. (2020)
• Hirudoterapia en la cicatrización de heridas — Nair H et al. (2022)
• Hirudoterapia para la isquemia de las extremidades en la unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátricos: una cohorte observacional retrospectiva — Resch J et al. (2022)

Ver toda la investigación analizada por la ASH →