Oral myiasis in an elderly patient

BACKGROUND: Myiasis is the invasion of living tissue of humans and other mammals by eggs or maggots of flies of the order of Diptera. It occurs mainly in the Tropics and is associated with inadequate public and personal hygiene. Oral myiases in an older man appears to be rare. OBJECTIVE: To relate a case of oral myiases in a debilitated older man treated by mechanical removal of the maggots, identifying the adult insect that caused the infestation. METHODS: The diagnosis of oral myiasis was established by the clinical examination and it was detected that the infestation involved only soft tissue and the sinus cavity. The patient was submitted to two mechanical removal of the visible maggots. RESULTS: Total of 110 maggots was removed from the oral cavity of the patient and adult insects was identified as belonging to the Calliphoridae Family, Cochliomyia hominivorax species. The patient died two days after the second procedure by severe systemic complications. CONCLUSIONS: The mechanic removal and the identification of the maggots must be adopted as soon as possible to prevent further tissue damage and bacterial infection in cases of oral myiasis. Special attention should be given to the debilitated old patients that are particularly susceptible to oral myiasis infestation.