What to Do When Your Neighbor’s Dog (Or Your Neighbor) Bites Your Kid (2022 AMW)
2022 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
Pediatric soft tissue injuries are an unfortunate clinic scenario we as otolaryngologists are responsible for managing, with long-term functional and cosmetic implications. The challenge of soft tissue injuries in pediatric patients lies not just in the reconstruction of the soft tissue itself but also of the pediatric patient and family. These injuries will often call upon the facial plastics skills of the otolaryngologist, as well as potentially airway management, delayed reconstruction, or scar revision. In particular, pediatric soft tissue injuries are relevant for those engaged in level 1 trauma coverage. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control has found Unintentional Injury the #1 cause of death for children ages 1-18, with motor vehicle crash accounting for 24% of those deaths. In addition, 250,000 human bites, 400,000 cat bites, and 4.7 million dog bites occur in the United States each year in both adults and children. Animal and human bites are inherently a ‘dirty wound’ injury due to the high bacterial load in the oral cavity and potential for infection after violation of the mucosal barrier. These facts speak to the challenge of non-fatal unintentional injury and animal/human bites resulting in soft tissue trauma which otolaryngologists manage on an annual basis.
Credits
CME:1.0, MOC:1.0