Medical case report on a traumatic tiger attack on a child

Nov 21 2011

Exotic animals—wild animals unsuited to domestication—are increasingly housed in domestic settings. This sometimes leads to traumatic attacks suffered by owners or visitors. An example of a tiger attack on a child is described in the November issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.

In their article, "Traumatic tiger attack. Case report," authors Marvin Chum and Wai Pui Ng (University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada) describe the neurosurgical, vascular, otolaryngological, and psychological injuries sustained by an 11-year-old boy who was attacked by a Siberian tiger housed at a private home. The boy, invited to view the animal, made a sudden unexpected movement, and the tiger responded by pouncing upon and mauling the child. Swift action by the trainer, who was holding the animal on a leash, saved the child from death.

The boy sustained multiple linear lacerations over his left posterior temporal scalp and puncture wounds in his left parietal, temporal, and neck regions. He had a comminuted depressed skull fracture of the left temporal lobe as well as a left occipital condyle fracture. Further investigations also revealed an underlying temporal lobe contusion and dissection of his left internal carotid artery. Not surprisingly, the child suffered greatly from anxiety over the event and its immediate physical consequences, including left facial weakness and swallowing difficulties.

The authors describe surgical procedures and medical therapies needed to treat the child. Special attention was made to avoid infection from the unique bacteria housed in the tiger's mouth together with the potentially dangerous, normal flora of the patient's lacerated skin. Chum and Ng provide a detailed description of the mode of injury in a traumatic tiger bite and the therapies required to respond to these bites.

The child recovered well, although the facial weakness, aspiration, and hoarseness persisted two years after the attack.

The authors emphasize that the most important lesson to be learned from this case is prevention, and they encourage that government policy—in their case, that of the Canadian government—be updated to "minimize inappropriate contact between animals and the public and ban private ownership of large cats."

Source Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics