Pet bites ‘significant’ plastic surgery cause

MORE females than males are bitten by cats and more males than females are bitten by dogs, Geelong hospital admissions data has revealed.

The analysis of pet bite admissions at Barwon Health over a two-year period also revealed 15 per cent of patients who sustained a cat attack needed a second operation compared with only 8 per cent of those who had been injured by a dog.

Dr Jackie Tran, an unaccredited Plastic Surgery Registrar at the hospital, conducted the research and said animal bites account for a “significant proportion” of a plastic surgeon’s caseload.

Findings showed significant reconstructive procedures are often required to treat the injuries, and complications caused by infection, causing permanent scars, distress and sometimes disability to the patient. “The main components of treatment are surgical debridement and antibiotic therapy, with some patients requiring a second operation,” Dr Tran said.

The research analysed the severity and frequency of the injury, and the length of hospital stay, while documenting patient variables such as demographic profile, type of animal, site of injury, type of operation and time of reconstruction.

Dr Tran said the study not only demonstrates how frequent animal bite injuries are, but the implications they have on inpatient bed occupancy.

She is presenting her research at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeon’s 87th Annual Scientific Congress in this week.