A 22-year-old man in Haryana's Faridabad was recently rushed to a private hospital in the city after his pet dog bit off most of his left ear, leaving it attached only by a bit of skin with no blood supply. But the man's organ was salvaged by a team of surgeons, who after an 11-hour challenging surgery, successfully reattached it.
"The complex surgical procedure not only restored the young man's physical appearance but also helped him regain his confidence," said doctors who performed the surgery at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad.
As per the doctors, after his pit bull attacked him, the man was rushed to a private hospital with his ear hanging by a mere 2mm skin bridge with no blood flow. The patient was immediately taken to the emergency room, where the hospital’s medical team prioritised re-establishing blood flow to the patient’s ear.
“The vessels of the ear are extremely small, measuring less than 0.5mm. This, combined with the fact that the vessels were torn and not clean-cut, made the surgery especially challenging. The damaged section of the artery and vein had to be replaced with a small segment of vein from another part of the body to bridge the gap and revascularize the ear," said Dr Mohit Sharma, who was part of the team that operated on the patient.
The patient’s condition required immediate attention, as the severed ear posed a high risk of infection, particularly in a dog bite wound. The medical team administered anti-rabies immunoglobulin and intravenous antibiotics to prevent infection and ensure a successful recovery.
They also restored the oxygenated blood supply to the ear and successfully reattached the man's ear after two surgeries of over 11 hours.
“The most difficult part of the surgery was joining the artery and vein in such tiny vessels. The initial branch we connected wasn’t supplying enough blood, so we had to perform the arterial anastomosis again on a better branch. Even after revascularization, the ear needed constant attention to ensure the vein was draining adequately, and we had to regularly manage the ear with heparin drips to prevent complications," Dr Devajyoti Guin, who was also part of the team.
Despite the complexity of the procedure, the surgery was a success, and the patient’s ear was fully revascularized and survived.
“Getting my ear back feels like getting a part of myself back. I was terrified that I would be disfigured for life, but the doctors at Amrita Hospital made sure that didn’t happen. I am so grateful for the care and expertise they provided,” said the young patient.