Pet dog bites off man’s ear in Delhi NCR, docs perform 11-hour reconstructive surgery |

In a bizarre incident, a pet dog bit the ear off its own master, landing the 22 year old man in a 11 hour long reconstructive surgery at Delhi NCR based hospital.
“The patient’s ear was fully revascularized and survived. Following the surgery, the patient is expected to lead a normal life, with his appearance intact, avoiding the significant disfigurement that would have occurred without this delicate operation,” doctors at Amrita Hospital told the media.
“Getting my ear back feels like getting a part of myself back.I was terrified that I would be disfigured for life,” said the man.
“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,” said Dr. Devajyoti Guin, Senior Consultant and Assistant Professor, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad.
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.
Dr. Mohit Sharma, HoD, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad said, “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. The surgery involved using a 40X magnification operating microscope and super-microsurgical instruments to reconnect the tiny vessels, which are critical to restoring oxygenated blood supply to the ear. The team successfully completed two surgeries over 11 hours, with the first operation lasting six hours and the second five hours.”
The pet dog had bit off most of his left ear, leaving it attached only by a small 2mm skin bridge with no blood supply.