Animal Inflicted Maxillofacial Injuries: Treatment Modalities and Our Experience

Animal bite injuries in pediatric population: a systematic review

Objectives: To assess the scientific literature pertaining the risk factors for injuries among victims of animal bite injuries. Data and sources: A systematic review of scientific literature published until May 2020 was carried out in the following databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and Journals@ovid. Study selection: A total of 924 records were found, of which 29 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. There was a male preponderance in most of the studies with male/female ratio ranging from 0.75:1 to 2.1:1. The age range varies from 0 to 19 years with the mean age varying from 3.6 to 8 years. Pitbulls, Rottweiler's, German shepherds, Bull terriers, Labradors and Dobermans were breeds with higher risk of attack. The animals were familiar to the victim (own, friends, neighbors) in 27–98% instances. Most cases of animal bite injuries were recorded during Summer and Spring months. Head and neck followed by extremities was found to be most inflicted area. Conclusions: The sociodemographic characteristics of victim as well as the biting animal affect the circumstances leading to biting episode. However, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the high heterogeneity among studies and moderate quality evidence.

Microbiological Characteristics and Surgical Management of Animal-Bite-Related Oral & Maxillofacial Injuries: A Single Center's Experience

The objective of the current study is to retrospectively evaluate animal-bite injuries and to gain insight into the epidemiology, accident consequences and treatment concept of these accidents in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Data of patients, who were admitted January 2015 and April 2021, were retrospectively evaluated regarding the patients’ characteristics (age, gender), facial distribution of substance defects/partial amputations, duration of hospitalization, operation treatments and antibiotic treatments. Data of 75 patients were included. Patients were bitten by dogs (n = 69.92%), cats (n = 4) and horses (n = 2). Lower eyelid/cheek complex was the most affected region (n = 37, 32.74%). Most of the patients between 0 and 3 years had to be operated on under general anesthesia (p = 0.011), while most of the adults could be operated on under local anesthesia (p = 0.007). In the age group 0–12 years, 30 patients (68%) were operated on under general anesthesia. Ampicillin/Sulbactam (48%) was the antibiotic most used. Antibiotics were adjusted after wound swabs in case of wound infections or critical wound conditions. This means that resistant antibiotics were stopped, and sensitive antibiotics were used. Structured surgical and antibiotic management of animal-bite wounds in the maxillofacial region is the most important factor for medical care to avoid long-term aesthetic consequences. Public health actions and policies under the leadership of an interdisciplinary committee could improve primary wound management, healing outcome and information status in the general population.

Combined Pharyngeal Laceration and Laryngeal Fracture Secondary to Dog Bite: A Case Report

Dog bites are the most common animal bites, typically occurring in the head and neck region or extremities. The majority of dog bite-related injuries are superficial and require minimal medical intervention. Less commonly, dog bite injuries can be very serious when involving the airway, major blood vessels, or extensive tissue loss. To this day, there are very few case reports in the medical literature that describe severe dog bites and outline their management. We present a case of successfully treating an extensive pharyngeal laceration with a laryngeal cartilage fracture produced by an unvaccinated dog bite.

Reconstruction of animal bite injuries to the head and neck

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The aim if this review is to provide an update on the existing literature of animal bite treatment strategies and provide a systematic approach to animal bites from presentation to reconstruction.

RECENT FINDINGS

Dog bites cause 80-90% of animal bites with 26.8-56.5% occurring in the head and neck. Infection rates may be as low as 5.7-9.7%. Primary closure alone is sufficient in 69.8% of dog bites within the first 24 h.

SUMMARY

Animal bite injuries to the head and neck are common, especially in the younger population. Dogs cause a majority of these bite injuries. Injuries can include simple lacerations or punctures, avulsions with tissue present, or avulsions with loss of tissue. The most common locations are the cheek, nose, and lips. It is important to gather the vaccination status of the animal and patient and to administer tetanus/rabies prophylaxis if indicated. Antibiotics are typically prescribed for 3-5 and 7-14 days for uninfected and infected wounds, respectively. These wounds require evaluation, irrigation, and occasionally debridement or repair in the operating room. The type of repair is determined based on the location and extent of injury and can range from primary closure to microsurgical replantation, skin grafts, flaps, or even facial transplantation.

Nasal Reconstruction Following a Dog Bite

Bite wounds in the nose region may lead to serious esthetic problems and functional losses. The authors describe a dog bite to his nose, resulting in a defect involving the entire tip of the nose and a part of the surrounding subunits. He was repaired with forehead flap and auricular conchal cartilage acutely. To the authors' knowledge, there are very few cases of acute repair in the literature. The authors also made a literature review on this subject.