Facial injuries following hyena attack in rural eastern Ethiopia.
Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg
; 43(12): 1459-64, 2014 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25132572
ABSTRACT
Hyenas are effective hunters and will consider humans as potential prey if the need and opportunity arise. This study describes the circumstances of hyena attacks, the patterns of injuries sustained, and reconstruction in a resource-poor setting. As part of a charitable surgical mission to Ethiopia in 2012, 45 patients with facial deformities were reviewed, of whom four were victims of hyena attacks. A semi-structured interview was performed to ascertain the circumstances of the attack and the subsequent consequences. The age of the victims at the time of attack varied from 5 to 50 years. The attacks occurred when the victims were alone and vulnerable and took place in outdoor open spaces, during the evening or at night. The initial lunge was made to the facial area; if the jaws closed on the facial bones they were crushed, but in all cases the soft tissues were grasped and torn from the underlying bone. Reconstruction was dictated by the extent of soft tissue loss but could normally be obtained by use of local or regional flaps. Hyenas have been shown to attack humans in a predictable way and cause injuries that typically involve the soft tissues of the face.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Plastic Surgery Procedures
/
Hyaenidae
/
Facial Injuries
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Animals
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg
Journal subject:
ODONTOLOGIA
Year:
2014
Document type:
Article