Patient was ‘sucked dry’ by leeches
A DOCTOR is facing manslaughter charges after a patient was “sucked dry” by dozens of blood leeches during alternative medicine treatment, a court heard yesterday.
Leeches were used in medieval medicine to suck out blood and put the body back into “balance”. In modern medicine they are used for relieving blood pressure and stimulating circulation.
Dr Inge Krebs is accused of attaching so many leeches to her 86-year-old patient that she died.
Prosecutors in Korneuburg, near Vienna, Austria, claim the 56-year-old doctor did not take her patient’s age into consideration.
Dr Krebs – who denies manslaughter – faces three years in prison if convicted. She said: “I am innocent. The victim had ailments she did not disclose.”