Kissing a dog can be very dangerous. Each of these wounds was from a dog bite. See information on preventing dog bite injuries elsewhere on this website.
This 70 year old patient had a loss of the vermilion margin (juncture between the red and white parts of the lip). The central part of the lip (cupid's bow) was also destroyed. This very difficult reconstruction was done with a series of flaps (moving tissue that still has a blood supply) from one part of the lip to another. The inner lining mucosa was advanced from inside the lip to reform a new vermilion margin after restoring the cupid's bow.
| The wound | The flap in place |
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| At rest | Lips closed | Kiss |
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Lip reconstruction should look good both statically and dynamically (it has to look standing still and move well enough to function). The muscle under the lip should be repaired carefully for this to happen.
A young patient with another dog bite. This devastating wound / injury was of the lower lip and the vermilion margin is again missing. Cutting out a wedge of tissue would have left the lip asymmetrical and uneven. Flaps of skin and mucosa were advanced together over a reconstruction of the muscle. A graft (moving tissue from another site) can be a problem to match defects crossing the vermillion margin of the lip.
| The wound | The flap in place |
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| Smile | Lips at rest | Kiss |
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This injury also is of the vermilion margin and extends into cupid's bow. Muscle, skin, and mucosa hang on a thin margin of tissue, enough to support the skin and vermilion. The hanging muscle was too destroyed and was removed (debrided). To restore animation the remaining muscle (obicularis oris) was loosened under the uninjured lip and advanced together. The hanging mucosa and skin included the difficult to reconstruct vermilion margin. Saving this anatomic detail contributed to the nice result of this plastic surgery.
| The defect | The reconstruction | After surgery |
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More Bite Injury Pages
Dog bites of Lip and Reconstruction Photographs (graphic)
Dog bite Injury Face Repair / Reconstruction Photos (graphic)
Camel Bite Reconstruction
Find books about dog bite prevention from Barnes and Noble
Bite Injuries Reconstructive Surgery bulletin boards
