Maggot-infested leg amputated in Sweden

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- After a 95-year-old woman's maggot-infested leg was amputated in a Stockholm, Sweden, hospital, her nursing home was accused of neglect.

Surgeons at Karolinska University hospital removed the leg of the unidentified resident of the publicly funded Rosengarden nursing home in the Stockholm suburb of Midsommarkransen, describing it as a "terrible sight" with maggots emerging from wounds, the Swedish news website The Local reported Monday.

The incident reopened accusations the nursing home is the site of severe neglect and mismanagement of its patients.

"I have never seen such terrible things as I saw there," said Yvonne Karlsson, a nurse who was employed at Rosengarden. "One woman had to go into hospital constantly to be stitched up and she was bruised all over, but she did not have any relatives so was not seen as a priority."

Attendo, the organization which runs Rosengarden, said it is not unusual for maggots to infest wounds, especially in the summer months.

"This does not mean the wound was not cared for," Attendo spokeswoman Charlotte Dimming said.