Hospital finds maggots in Hong Kong patient’s neck wound in second case in three months
Tests confirm presence of Sarcophaga larvae, from a common fly in the city
A patient at Tuen Mun Hospital was found to have fly larvae in a wound on his neck, the second such case at the same hospital in about three months.
The bed-bound 62-year-old neurosurgery patient was found to have several maggots around the opening for his tracheostomy tube – a curved tube inserted into a hole made in the neck and windpipe – and left ear on September 24 and 25, a Hospital Authority spokesman said.
The wound was cleaned immediately, and the larvae were sent to the laboratory for tests by the hospital’s microbiologists, which confirmed that they were Sarcophaga larvae, a common fly in Hong Kong.
A specialist from the ear, nose and throat department examined the patient via bronchoscopy, a procedure to view the patient’s airway, and computed tomography scanning.
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Repeated examinations showed no evidence that the incident had brought about additional health risks for the patient, who was in a stable condition, the authority spokesman said.
The patient and his family have been given an explanation.
