A three-and-a-half-year-old girl who lost part of her ear in an attack by a stray dog will have to wait a few more years before undergoing reconstructive surgery.
Doctors initially tried to reattach the severed part, but the procedure failed and the attached part had to be removed due to infection on Monday (October 27).
“The doctors asked us to wait until she was seven years old. They said the skin from her thigh could be used to reconstruct her ear when she grows up,” the girl’s father Mirash told MS.
According to him, the doctors had previously warned that there was only a 50% chance of success of the operation. The top part of the girl’s ear — about two inches in size — was lost in the attack. Although the family managed to keep the amputated part, a post-operative infection required its removal.
Mr Mirash, a construction worker, said he has been unable to return to work since the incident. His wife, who was employed as a shop assistant, also stopped working. The family claimed the initial cost of the surgery was over ₹1,000, while the subsequent procedure to remove the reattached part cost over ₹20,000.
The child was attacked by a rabid stray dog while playing with her sister and cousin at Neendur near North Paravur earlier this month. She was first taken to a nearby government hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Kochi.
She will have one more rabies shot in November.
Published – 31 Oct 2025 20:26 IST
