Old man's lip bitten off by dog

A month ago, a 72-year-old man (from Thanh Hoa) was bitten by a dog on the face, his lower lip was severed. The patient received timely first aid and wound sutures, and was vaccinated against tetanus and rabies.

The wound is stable, but the sequelae of a lower lip defect cause many obstacles in the patient's daily life. Secretions and saliva often flow out when eating or talking, so the sequelae of a lower lip defect need to be treated.

At the Department of Plastic Surgery and Microsurgery, 108 Military Central Hospital, the old man had his defective lip reconstructed using a skin flap from the surrounding area. The successful surgery helped the patient regain a continuous lip contour, improving his quality of life, both in terms of function and aesthetics.

Surgeons reconstruct lips for patients bitten by dogs. (Photo: BVCC)

According to MSc. Dr. Le Kim Nha, Department of Plastic Surgery and Microsurgery, 108 Central Military Hospital, in first aid for dog bites, it is necessary to separate the patient from the dangerous area. If the wound is bleeding profusely, quickly use a clean towel or clean gauze to press on the injured area to stop the bleeding. If the wound stops bleeding, wash it with soap and clean water, then bandage it with clean gauze and transfer the patient to the nearest medical facility.

At a medical facility, patients should be examined early and advised to get rabies and tetanus vaccinations by a specialist. Dog bite wounds are often at high risk of infection, so they need to be bandaged and cleaned daily, combined with antibiotics and general pain relief.

For infected and oozing wounds, we should leave them open and take care of them by changing the bandages daily until they are clean before closing them. When the general and local conditions are stable, plastic surgery methods will be used to reconstruct the missing structures and organs, improving the patient's quality of life.

On average, each year in Vietnam, there are more than 500,000 domestic accidents caused by dog bites. In recent years, the frequency of dog bites on the elderly or children has increased, with injuries often occurring in the head, face, and neck, leaving extremely serious consequences.

Nhu Loan

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cu-ong-bi-cho-can-dut-roi-moi-ar914348.html