tailieunhanh - Báo cáo y học: " Prolonged venous bleeding due to traditional treatment with leech bite: a case report"

Tuyển tập báo cáo các nghiên cứu khoa học quốc tế ngành y học dành cho các bạn tham khảo đề tài: Prolonged venous bleeding due to traditional treatment with leech bite: a case report. | Kaya et al. Journal of Medical Case Reports 2011 5 172 http content 5 1 172 JOURNAL OF MEDICAL CASE REPORTS CASE REPORT Open Access Prolonged venous bleeding due to traditional treatment with leech bite a case report Bulent Kaya Orhan Bat Nuriye Esen Bulut Hasan Altun and Kemal Memisoglu Abstract Introduction The medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis has been used in the treatment of many diseases for thousands of years. In Turkey it is used most commonly in the management of venous diseases of lower extremities. Case presentation A 25-year-old Turkish woman presented to our emergency room with bleeding from her left leg. She had been treated for varicose veins in her lower extremities with leeches about 24 hours before admission to the emergency room. The bleeding was controlled by applying pressure with sterile gauze upon the wound and she was discharged. She returned after four hours having started bleeding again. Hemostasis was achieved by vein ligation under local anesthesia. Conclusions Leech bite should be evaluated as a special injury. Prolonged bleeding can be seen after leech bites. In such cases hemostasis either with local pressure or ligation of the bleeding vessel is mandatory. Introduction Leeches are bloodsucking worms usually found in places with fresh water. There are two species of therapeutic leeches Hirudo medicinalis European medical leech and Hirudo michaelseni. H. medicinalis is about 10 cm in length and 2 g in weight. They have been used for the treatment of many diseases as far back as 2 500 years ago. Headaches hemorrhoids and mental illness are some of the disorders that have been treated with leeches. Treatment with leeches is referred to as hirudothera-phy in modern medicine. Today medicinal leech therapy is mainly used in plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery for tissue flap salvage 1 . Medicinal leech therapy in Turkey is a traditional treatment for venous disorders of the lower extremities. Most .