Friday, November 10, 2006

Surgeons sew boy’s nose back after attack dog swallows it

This reminds me of the Woody Allen movie, "Sleeper" where the only living part of the leader of a society in the future is his nose.
A boy of 11 whose nose was bitten off by a dog has had it sewn back on after it was retrieved from the animal's stomach.

The remarkable operation in the Czech Republic is the first of its kind and was hailed by surgeons yesterday as a "great success".

The child was mauled by an alsatian in the village of Lipova. His father rushed him to hospital where quick-thinking surgeons telephoned the vet charged with destroying the dog. They ordered him to open up the animal's stomach and search for the boy's nose.

lipova.jpg

It was still in one piece, although doctors were concerned about infection. But the nose was thoroughly sterilised and after the 11-hour operation the boy's sense of smell is not affected and he can breathe normally.

Prof Jiri Vesely, chief plastic surgeon at St Anna Hospital, Brno, said: "We thought it was worth checking inside the dog in case it hadn't chewed it. It was a great discovery to find he had swallowed it whole. It was intact." - telegraph

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