Gurgaon: A five-year-old girl whose blood circulation system to her legs was severely damaged in a stray dog attack underwent an emergency vascular surgery at Artemis Hospital that will likely help her walk again.The child was attacked by a pack of stray dogs last week and sustained deep bite wounds on her back, thigh and legs. Doctors said a large portion of tissue on her left thigh was torn away and the main artery that circulated blood to the leg was damaged, putting her at immediate risk of gangrene and amputation.However, doctors said the surgery has repaired the damage and the child is expected to regain the ability to walk once her wounds heal.A paediatric cardiothoracic and vascular surgery team at the hospital carried out a time-sensitive procedure to reconstruct the damaged artery. The vessel was replaced using an artificial vascular graft, restoring circulation to the limb.Artemis Hospitals MD Dr Devlina Chakravarty said the injury was critical and required immediate intervention. “Every minute was crucial. The extent of vascular damage posed an immediate threat to the limb. Timely surgery and coordinated care helped restore blood circulation and prevent permanent disability,” she said.According to chief of paediatric cardio-vascular surgery at the hospital Dr Aseem R. Srivastava, such injuries are particularly complex in children due to the small size of arteries and the high risk of infection in dog-bite wounds. “Large portions of muscle and artery were missing and there was severe skin loss. We used microvascular techniques and routed the reconstructed artery along the side of the thigh to avoid the infected wound,” he said.The incident has once again brought the spotlight onto the growing risk posed by stray dog attacks in urban areas. Doctors flagged that India continues to report a high number of dog bites and rabies-related deaths, and called for stronger public health measures, better management of stray dog populations and increased awareness on prevention and response.They added that children and the elderly remain the most vulnerable, and stressed the need for preparedness in both communities and healthcare systems to respond to such severe trauma cases.The city recorded 10,067 cases of dog bites in 2025, multiple times higher than the previous years — an increase that experts blame on the lack of sterilisation drives to control the population of stray canines. These 10,067 cases would approximately translate into around 27 dog bites a day, and over one case an hour. According to data by the health department, 5,259 dog bite cases were recorded in 2023, 3,464 in 2022, and 2,612 in 2021. Doctors at govt hospitals said on Thursday they get 10-12 cases of dog bites in the emergency ward every day.
