Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Woman Becomes Amputee After Maggots Devour Foot

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-17-2005, 06:35 PM:

This story is so gross I just had to share it.
Link to story

quote:
Woman Becomes Amputee After Maggots Devour Foot

Fri Jul 15,10:24 AM ET

A West Palm Beach woman lost her leg after a visit to a local nursing home, and that wasn't the most disturbing thing to happen.

Mary Stewart checked into Renova Health Center in Lake Park last year just to recover from foot surgery. Eighteen days into her recovery, Stewart's leg had to be amputated.

"What he found was her foot infested with live maggots, literally eating her alive," said Scott Fischer, Stewart's attorney.

"I told them, 'Do what you have to do; get it over with," said Stewart.

Now, Stewart is doing what she feels she has to do, and that is, sue Renova and it's parent company for what she says was a lack of care by the facility.

"This is not a place I would allow my dog to go to," said Fischer.

Fischer said even though Stewart's medical records from Renova indicate that her surgery wound was treated every day, there's no way it was.

Stewart, who is now in a wheelchair, is suing for at least $15,000.

"I was very upset, but being upset doesn't help me," she said.

David Wingrove, the administrator at Renova, said he has no knowledge of the lawsuit, and cannot discuss clients' cases.

Fischer said management there has changed at Renova since Stewart's 2004 stay.

I think that's a pretty good statement to the actual quality of the health care and retirement home systems in the United States. Screw doing the job right. Just make my Mercedes payments, biatch!

Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 07-17-2005, 07:05 PM:

"What he found was her foot infested with live maggots, literally eating her alive," said Scott Fischer, Stewart's attorney.

Bullshit. Maggots do NOT eat living tissue. They eat necrotic tissue. The maggots were a sign her foot got infected and was rotting away. In fact, maggots are often used in clinics to clean out dead tissue in wounds that went bad.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-17-2005, 08:06 PM:

Whether the flesh was live or dead is pretty much besides the point. A clinic has to be pretty damned incompetent to allow a patient's surgical wound to get so badly infected (likely to the point of going gangreneous) that it would be filled with maggots.

It's a pretty extreme news story. But not too surprising. In the United States, more than 100,000 patients die each year from infections they contracted in hospitals. There's all sorts of very scary, drug resistant bacteria floating about in those corridors.

Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 07-17-2005, 08:11 PM:

No doubt, I just think the attorney was sensationalizing the thought of maggots eating somebody "alive". I imagine it will work quite well as an effect on most people's minds.

Posted by David Favel (Member # 1125) on 07-18-2005, 12:43 AM:

Actually the maggots would leep the wound quite clean, as stated, they only eat dead flesh.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 07-18-2005, 12:57 AM:

quote: Wolff King Morrow
Maggots do NOT eat living tissue. They eat necrotic tissue.

The practical application for most here is that if you get a boil, after you lance it, you don't *have* to go to the trouble of teasing out the necrotic tissue. You can just wait & let maggots eat it out.

Posted by Chase Hanson (Member # 2779) on 07-18-2005, 01:11 AM:

I do however agree that it demonstrates gross negligence on behalf of the facility. Its not really like you can claim ignorance, wounds like that tend to exude a generally wretched odor, you can usually smell it through masks.

Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 07-18-2005, 07:08 AM:

Suing for $15,000 --- Let's start at $1 mil!

Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 07-18-2005, 11:23 AM:

Abuse.com - Renova Health Center
Abuse.com Nursing Home Profile
Detailed information for RENOVA HEALTH CENTER

Maggot Therapy Project
Introduction to Maggot Therapy

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 07-19-2005, 01:52 AM:

quote: Jeffry L. Johnson
Introduction to Maggot Therapy

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who had a vision of a maggot on a tiny little couch.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 07-19-2005, 05:12 AM:

...while telling all to some leech.

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 07-19-2005, 08:21 AM:

My mother-in-law is a wound care nurse and specializes in this stuff. It drives my wife's family nuts because she always talks about work at the dinner table. I think it is hilarious to see them get mad and I always ask her questions to get her talking about work.

She deals with colostomy bags, bed sores, people who have the flesh eating bacteria and all kinds of exotic health problems. She does on occassion use maggots to get rid of dead tissue.

She told me of one guy who cut down trees for a living and got flesh eating bacteria on his leg. She had to literally pack bandages into his open flesh of his leg. She said his whole lower leg was an open wound. She told me the bacteria is everywhere and the conditions have to be just right for you to get it.

[ 10-29-2005, 08:36 AM: Message edited by: Joshua Waaland ]

Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 07-19-2005, 08:55 AM:

So basically cutting down trees makes the conditions just right...

[thumbsup]