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WESTBURY, N.Y. -- Leech Law No. 1: NEVER REUSE A LEECH.
This, observes Rudy Rosenberg, should be obvious: "It won't feed again for another six months. And the patient might have an infectious disease, so you don't want to risk putting it on another patient.''
Rosenberg should know: He's co-owner of Leeches U.S.A. Ltd., the nation's primary provider of medical leeches.

The oozy little blood suckers allow surgeons to get medieval on your severed finger, foot, ear or scalp while naturally aiding the healing process. They work cheap, too: just $6.90 apiece, "which I think is reasonable,'' says the dapper Rosenberg, who went into the leech business back in 1986.

Leeches U.S.A. operates from a small brick building just off the Long Island Expressway, a quiet suburban site where the neighbors include a welding firm and the telephone company. The sign outside reads "ACCURATE,'' the name shared by two other companies that own the space. The "l-word'' appears nowhere, although Rosenberg says the neighbors know what lurks within. There, in the kind of outsized fridge ordinarily used by florists, are thousands of imported European leeches -- the lifeblood of the business. The creatures run about 3 inches long, and undulate through an assortment of fish tanks like tiny Loch Ness monsters. Rosenberg holds a penlight to one tank, commenting that he finds their red, brown and green shadings somewhat attractive. This is a minority opinion.

Rosenberg seems an unlikely leech wrangler. A Holocaust survivor, he came to the United States at age 19. He eventually started Accurate Chemical, which provides sophisticated research products for scientists. Now 69, goateed and nattily dressed, he sits in an office filled with vintage canes and walking sticks, a collection of classical music CDs, and a mirror bearing the likeness of Groucho Marx.
While the leeches are a small part of his business, they have become Rosenberg's calling card.
His partner, Marie Bonazinga, is now known through the medical business -- affectionately, of course -- as "The Leech Lady.'' Even the mundane is transformed; Rosenberg's trips to the bank are invariably cause for the tellers to inquire about his charges."It's an interesting sideline,'' Rosenberg acknowledges with a sly grin. "I don't think you could make a living selling leeches, but it gives you a certain amount of notoriety."It's something people don't forget.''

Leech Law No. 2: NEVER RETURN A USED LEECH.
A used leech, sadly, is a dead leech. Once they drop off a patient, their work complete, they are dropped into a deadly alcohol bath. Before their untimely demise, though, there are amazing results. "I don't like to use the word miracle,'' Rosenberg says, "but it is unbelievable what these leeches do.'' A typical tale: A finger is severed. A microsurgeon pains-takingly reattaches it, but there are complications.

Enter the leech. The leech digs its teeth into the flesh on either side of the incision, using its powerful suckers to stay attached. The blood flows through the leech, from the body to the reattached part. An anticoagulant in the leech keeps the blood flowing smoothly and prevents scabbing. An anesthetic released by the leech makes it painless. Voila!

Not any leech will do. Only one of the world's 650 species qualifies: The Hirudo Medicinalis, a specialist sporting 300 tiny teeth laid out in the shape of a Mercedes hood ornament. It's appropriate; the Hirudo is the top of the line in the leech world.
Leeches U.S.A. ships 20,000 Hirudos worldwide each year, although the company won't discuss exact sales figures.

For emergencies, there's a "leech bank'' at Kennedy International Airport, allowing the company to guarantee same-day service if needed. The leeches are generally sold 20 to a pack."The nice thing is they can supply them on short notice,'' said Dr. Jerry A. Rubin, a Florida plastic surgeon who has used leeches in about 10 surgeries over the past five years. "They can ship them within eight hours.''
For many doctors, including Rubin, the leech has improbably become part of the surgical routine: Scalpel. Suture. Leeches.

"To me, it's no different than antibiotics or pain medication,'' the board-certified doctor said. The success rate for the leeches in Rubin's cases runs about 50 percent, which he says is much better than the option: "Zero percent.''

Rosenberg's bloodsuckers aren't doing anything new. The first recorded use of leech therapy dates back 2500 years to the Egyptians, and it remained in vogue until the mid-1800s. The traditional red, white and blue barber pole? The red stripe once indicated that the shop dealt in leeches. But the leech soon got a bad rap -- one that even Rosenberg admits was hard to dodge."It's a natural revulsion,'' Rosenberg acknowledges. "But if you put a leech on, having it or not having it can be the difference whether you can play the violin again or not."That's a very powerful argument.''

Leech Law No 3: DO NOT FEED THE LEECHES.
A leech eats about once every six months. Once sated, they are content to lounge about for as long as three years, making them the shiftless brothers-in-law of the animal kingdom. Leeches U.S.A., however, keeps its stable lean and mean."Our leeches,'' Rosenberg says proudly, "are shipped in water, live and hungry.'' Which is good news for the patients. Rosenberg brings out the company's color brochure, complete with photos of the little leeches working their magic on a ring finger and a pair of reattached ears.

Rosenberg recalls patients who had nicknames for their leeches, although they are a minority: Watching a leech get fat on your bodily fluids is not for the faint of heart. But circumstances make for strange (hospital) bedfellows.

Just ask Wayne Thomas of Union Park, Fla. Earlier this year, the meat cutter lost a one-inch chunk of his right index finger while slicing a frozen pig. Dr. Rubin reattached the piece and dialed Leeches U.S.A.
The finger was saved."They're kind of slimy, and they're messy,'' Thomas admitted. "After you get your finger mangled by a saw, a leech isn't going to bother you."Trust me.''

Source: the Millennia Web Magazine

Leech is a common name for over 650 species of largely freshwater, carnivorous worms that comprise the class Hirudinea in the phylum Annelida. Although commonly known as the bloodsuckers, some species are not parasitic and are free-living in streams and ponds, feeding on aquatic insects and other freshwater invertebrates.

More about leeches at these sites:

Florida State University

UK Biodiversity