A woman had half her face ripped off by a bear in a horrific attack.
The 68-year-old was mauled while on a coffee plantation.
The animal clawed her face and dragged her along the ground for approximately 10 meters.
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She was rushed to hospital where surgeons performed emergency reconstructive surgery to save her life.
Doctors said she remained conscious throughout the terrifying ordeal despite sustaining devastating trauma to the left side of her face.
Intraoperative appearance of the patient following exenteration. (Picture: Jam Press)
She was initially treated at a local facility before enduring an eight-hour transfer to hospital, where specialist teams fought to stabilise her injuries.
Medics administered intravenous fluids, antibiotics and pain relief to control bleeding during the journey, as reported by Need To Know.
On arrival at hospital, surgeons discovered she had suffered a full-thickness avulsion injury to the left side of her face, with extensive fractures to the cheekbone and upper jaw.
CT scan findings of the patient after a bear mauling. (Picture: Jam Press)
Her upper central teeth had been completely torn out, while her left eye was so badly damaged that doctors were forced to remove it.
She suffered complete destruction of the eye muscles and tear duct system, leaving her permanently blind in one eye.
Emergency surgery was carried out under general anaesthetic to clean and reconstruct the contaminated wounds.
Then, plastic surgeons began painstaking facial reconstruction.
Immediate postoperative outcome. Anatomical repositioning and puzzle-like soft-tissue re-approximation were performed after debridement, exenteration, and fracture fixation. (Picture: Jam Press)
Remarkably, doctors said the woman made a strong recovery following the attack.
At a two-week follow-up appointment, they found that the wound was healing well with minimal swelling, allowing surgeons to remove her stitches.
Six weeks after surgery, CT scans confirmed successful healing of the facial fractures.
Postoperative CT evaluation demonstrating successful bony consolidation and stable wire fixation. (Picture: Jam Press)
By four months post-operation, the wound had fully healed and the woman had regained normal chewing and speech function despite the devastating extent of her injuries.
The attack took place in South Sumatra, Indonesia, and the case report was published recently in a medical journal.
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Clinical condition at the 4-month postoperative follow-up. (Picture: Jam Press)
