Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery After a Dog Bite
Key Takeaways: Dog bites can cause severe facial injuries, especially in children, often requiring reconstructive and plastic surgery to restore function and reduce scarring. With bite forces up to 450 psi, these attacks can damage delicate facial structures, leading to lasting physical and emotional impacts. Procedures like laser scar removal or scar revision may be covered in a dog bite lawsuit if deemed medically necessary, and an experienced attorney can help recover compensation for current and future treatment costs.
Dog bite attacks can result in serious injuries that often cause significant scarring and disfigurement. When dog bites result in facial disfigurement, the scars are often much more than physical in nature – they also create emotional scars that can make you self-conscious about your appearance and serve as a daily reminder of this traumatic incident. For many people, plastic or reconstructive surgery is an important component to the healing process after suffering a dog bite.
Plastic and reconstructive surgery after a dog bite attack is very common. Approximately 19,000 people undergo reconstruction procedures for dog bites each year. Many of these procedures involve facial plastic surgery to minimize the appearance of scars, improve function of the nerves and muscles in the region and restore confidence.
Why Do Dog Bites Result in Severe Facial Injuries?
There are several factors that create ideal conditions for dog bites to result in severe facial injuries. Your face contains a variety of prominent features, including the nose, ears and lips, which provide easy access points for a dog’s teeth to latch onto. Once a dog bites down, it will often whip its head around with tremendous force. A dog’s jaw can exert forces as high as 200-450 psi, which is strong enough to puncture sheet metal. When these bite forces are combined with the tearing and ripping action used by dogs, it can result in complex wounds that contain torn tissue, deep lacerations, crushing injuries, and avulsions where tissue tears away from connective structures.
Many of your facial structures are extremely delicate, including the skin, nerves, muscle, cartilage and bones. When these structures are bitten, their delicate nature can increase the severity of the injuries suffered.
Your face also contains several functional structures such as nerves, muscles and tear ducts. Many of these structures play an important role in the creation of facial expressions. When they’re damaged during a dog bite attack, you may suffer significant functional impairment in addition to facial disfigurement.
Children are particularly vulnerable to severe facial injuries during a dog bite attack because their facial bones and tissues are smaller and thinner. Children under 10, and especially children under 5, are at the highest risk of severe facial injuries from a dog bite. Approximately 77% of facial injuries from dog bites occur in this age group.
Reconstructive and Cosmetic Procedures Are Often Required After Facial Injuries from a Dog Bite
If the dog bite damaged muscles or support structures in your face, reconstructive surgery is often required to rebuild deep tissue layers and restore proper function. Reconstructive surgery after a dog bite often involves skin, bone and muscle grafts.
After your injuries have healed and all necessary facial reconstruction has been performed, plastic surgery may be required to address any remaining cosmetic issues. The majority of cosmetic procedures performed after dog bites involve minimizing scars. Depending on the severity of your facial scars, your plastic surgeon may recommend either:
- Laser Scar Removal – Laser energy is applied to your scars, activating your body’s healing mechanisms to eliminate damaged tissue and promote the growth of new, healthy tissue which will reduce the appearance of scars and minimize discoloration.
- Scar Removal Surgery – In cases of severe facial scarring, scar removal surgery can be performed to remove scar tissue and replace it with healthy tissue from another region of your body.
When Should You See a Plastic Surgeon After a Dog Bite?
The location and severity of your dog bite wounds will generally dictate whether you need to work with a plastic surgeon. Basic first aid, such as cleaning the wound, applying antibiotic ointment and covering it with a protective bandage may be sufficient to treat minor wounds, especially if they aren’t in a highly visible location of your body. If you require stitches or other extensive medical treatments for deeper dog bite lacerations, you can usually work with a general surgeon as long as the wounds aren’t in a highly visible location such as your face.
However, for facial injuries or severe dog bite lacerations in other regions which caused significant tissue damage, the expertise of a plastic surgeon may be required to ensure proper healing. In these situations, reconstructive surgery may be necessary to restore proper function of muscles and ligaments, or to address nerve damage. When facial scarring occurs, having a plastic surgeon address these lacerations will help minimize any scarring or disfigurement after the attack.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Costs Can Be Recovered in a Dog Bite Lawsuit
The good news is that in most instances, you will be able to recover compensation for any plastic and reconstructive surgery services required after a dog bite attack. Dog bite settlements generally cover all medical costs related to your injuries, including any plastic or reconstructive surgery that was required to address scarring, disfigurement, tissue loss or nerve damage. If ongoing plastic surgery treatments are needed, you may also be able to receive compensation for any future treatments that are expected as part of your care plan.
In order to receive compensation for your plastic and reconstructive surgery treatments, you’ll need to prove that these procedures were medically necessary to repair the damage caused by your dog bite injury. An experienced dog bite attorney can ensure you provide the documentation required to demonstrate that these procedures were medically necessary and related to your dog bite injuries.
Pushchak Law Can Help After a Dog Bite Attack
If you’ve been injured in a dog bite attack, you are entitled to recover compensation for any damages associated with the attack. At Pushchak Law, we’ve helped many dog bite victims recover the compensation they deserve, and we can ensure your rights are protected throughout the process.
Brian Pushchak has made dog bite cases a primary focus of his practice. He’s witnessed firsthand the devastating injuries associated with dog bites and understands the emotional trauma caused by scarring and disfigurement from these attacks. If you need plastic surgery to address facial disfigurement or reconstructive surgery to repair damaged structures in the bite region, Mr. Pushchak can ensure the cost of these procedures are included in your damage award.
Mr. Pushchak’s Informed Decisions™ Approach plays an important role in helping you achieve the best possible outcome to your case. This unique approach keeps you in control of the process and ensures he’s aligned with your goals when developing your legal strategy. After discussing your desired outcome with you, Mr. Pushchak will explain your legal rights and options in detail. You’ll have the opportunity to ask as many questions as needed to ensure you understand all your options. While Mr. Pushchak will recommend the strategy he believes will be most effective in achieving your goals, you will always have the final say on how we handle your case.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation. Pushchak Law serves clients in Denver and the surrounding areas of Colorado.
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