1985

Following publications in 1960 and 1972 from Yugoslavia and France on use of leeches to prevent vein congestion and postop blood clotting, Boston plastic surgeon Joseph Upton reattached severed ear of 5-year-old, but reattached ear blackens because blood can’t escape it. Solution: leeches. “Joseph Upton attached two [leeches] to the boy’s congested ear, and in minutes it began to recover its healthy color. After a couple of days the organ was fine, and Upton became the first doctor to have successfully reattached the ear of a child using microsurgery. Plus a couple of vampiric slugs.” Upton’s success  renaissance in leeching, and in 2004, FDA approved leeches as a “medical device” (preceded by FDA approval of maggots in January 2004), enabling new leech-farming companies from other countries to enter the market” (Poole). As a leech bites, it releases an anti-coagulant, a vasodilator, and a spreading factor from tissue farthest from the bite (liquefying any hardening blood). These chemicals created an “artificial circulation” that keeps a reattached appendage alive while the patient grows new veins (Colapinto).