Dog Bites and Reconstruction 3
Hello, my name is L and I am the mother of two young boys,
ages two and five. I am also the owner of three springer spaniel dogs.
The reason I am writing to you is to thank you for your website and
graphic pictures of children who have been bitten. A friend of ours
has a seven year old boy who has teased and tormented our three dogs
over the past summer--it has only been little things that we have caught
him at, but nonetheless, we try to keep our dogs away from him at all
times ( my husband and I feel that he has done more severe tormenting);
his parents are very much aware of their sons problem with dogs and
together we have tried different things to make him stop. Well, just
last weekend, this seven year old boy was at our house and I caught
him teasing one of our dogs. You can about imagine the one-sided conversation
I had with him and after he "zoned-out" on me, I got on the
web and found your pictures! What a shock! I showed all the children,
ages two to ten and all were amazed. The seven year old almost started
to cry (that was not my intention; I just wanted some shock therapy).
Well, needless to say, there hasn't been anymore teasing or tormenting
of dogs, from any of the children. Now, I know that that is not the
intention of your website, but I just wanted to let you know how you
helped a scared and frustrated parent! I don't think any of the children
want to see their faces on the Internet! Thank you!
Sincerely,
L
Dr Bermant responds:
Thank you for your comments. The images are some of the more mild dog
bites I have had to treat. The really bad ones are just too much to
publish on the web.
Michael Bermant, MD
Richmond, Virginia
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Dear Dr. Bermant:
I am the Education Events Specialist for the Humane Society of --. First
of all, please allow me to compliment you on your responsible approach
to dog bite prevention, as well as your quality of information that
you have on your web site. I do have one suggestion for you when you
get questions from the public regarding dog behavior or specific breed
information. Humane societies generally have excellent information on
dog breeds and are more honest with the information than someone who
has a vested interest in the sale of a particular breed such as a breeder
or breed club. These groups sometimes tend to allow their affection
for a particular breed to cloud their judgment by recommending these
dogs for a person when they may not be the best choice. Humane societies
are more honest because they are well aware of what happens when someone
makes a poor choice in the type of pet they bring home.
Sincerely,
Charles
Education Events Specialist
The Humane Society of --
DR Bermant responds:
Thank you for the information. Hopefully you can put that on a web
page. Please let me know when you have done so and I will add a link.
Michael Bermant, MD
Richmond, Virginia
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Thank you so much for your web page. It has been the only ray of hope
my husband and I have had for weeks. Our 4 yr old son was attacked by
our neighbors dog, a husky and German shepherd mix . He spent 4 hours
in plastic surgery and the DR did a wonderful job. The skin above the
lip area was sliced and laying down on his chin. The DR reattached muscles
all around the lip area. He also has several 1-3 inch lacerations on
his right cheek. I can not believe the facial damage it has done to
our child's face. I am most concerned about the lip area. It runs horizontal
with the nose and across the fatty part of the cheek. It is already
slightly indented. Is there any natural cream or vitamin you would suggest
to help promote healing of the scars and lessen the redness. Our family
is devastated but feel 'blessed" our son is alive. This dog also
attacked our 10 yr old son in May and the neighbors agreed to get rid
of the dog, but did not. They kept the dog tied up all summer but had
been letting it out while we were gone 10 days before my son was attacked.
Also, I am a therapist who specializes in working with traumatized children.
Ironic, huh? Is there any material on this issues you have found for
coping with the trauma?
S
DR Bermant responds:
The best help is preventing the injury in the first place. After that
good initial reconstruction is what I recommend - as soon as possible
after injury. Scar care needs to be planed by the doctor involved with
your care. I individualize the scar care for each of my own patients.
There can be much emotional trauma associated with such injuries. This
is your specialty and you probably know it is very hard to help when
your own family is involved. When appropriate I also involve child care
specialists to deal with that aspect of the problem.
Michael Bermant, MD
Richmond, Virginia
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Dr. Bermant:
In October, my son sustained a significant dogbite to the nasal tip.
He had initial wound debridement and application of full thickness skin
graft to the site. This was completed by a plastic surgeon in the -,
WA area. At this point he has a defect that is 16 x 14 mm and approaches
the columella. The underlying lower lateral alar cartilages are exposed
visually at the graft site. At the time of the original reconstruction,
it was felt that because of his age and anticipated growth, further
reconstructive endeavors would take place in the future. My son is now
19 years old and is asking for further reconstruction to improve the
appearance of his nasal tip.
It seems from your web site that you have an expertise with nasal reconstruction.
Would you be able to advise me further. We are interested in starting
surgery this summer and will travel as needed.
N, RN, BSN
Nasal reconstruction is an art form. There are many possible places
to "borrow" tissue and each must be weighed for possible benefits
and trade offs. Each nasal defect needs to be evaluated in person to
determine possible reconstructive options. I need to feel the tissues
and see how they move to offer advice.
We have several examples of nasal reconstruction on this website.
The defects are for skin cancer, but the types of flaps shown on these
pages demonstrate the various forms of sculpture needed in rebuilding
this structure.
Cost of surgery depends on what needs to be done. We do see patients
from around the world and try to plan a package ahead to minimize possible
disappointments. Preliminary evaluations include information about your
problem and medical information, photographs, and in some cases previous
surgical details. The photographs should be all of the views shown on
that web page and at least 3x5 large or by E-mail images (JPEG compression
preferred). The face should fill the entire image for each view. A tiny
nose on an entire body shot does not permit enough detail. If sending
images by land mail, please enclose return postage and envelope if you
would like these images returned. For those patients who prefer, we
will do the photographs here during the consultation avoiding the remote
package.
Standard views
include:
Call my office for the fees for this preliminary package or for our
in office consultations.
We have a great deal of material that can start the remote process.
Preliminary remote evaluations can be difficult and not all patients
are candidates. If you are interested in learning more, our surgical
packages include patient education, preparation for surgery, our care,
and the operation. Not all offices will offer our attention to detail,
expertise, and time we take with each of our patients.
I hope this information proves of some use. If my office can be of
further assistance, please let us know. We can be reached at: (804)
748-7737. My staff and I try to ensure the comfort of our out of town
guests during their consultations and procedures.
Michael Bermant, MD
Richmond, Virginia
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Dogbite Prevention
Dog
bites of Lip and Reconstruction Photographs (graphic)
Dog bite Injury
Face Repair / Reconstruction Photos (graphic)
Camel
Bite Reconstruction
Find books
about dog bite prevention from Barnes and Noble
Bite Injuries Reconstructive Surgery bulletin boards
Bulletin
Board for Patient's Questions and Answers
Hand 
