Dog Bites to the Male Genitalia: Characteristics, Management and Comparison with Human Bites

Wolf, Stuart J. Jr.
Turzan, Charles
Cattolica, Eugene V.
Mcaninch, Jack W.

From the Departments of Urology, University of California School of Medicine and San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco
Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center, Oakland, California

^*Requests for reprints: Department of Urology, U-575, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0738.

Accepted May 29, 1992.

Journal of Urology 149(2):p 286-289, February 1993. | DOI: 10.1016/S0022-5347(17)36058-5

ABSTRACT

Dog bites to the external male genitalia occur infrequently. We present 4 new cases and review 4 others described préviously. Victims tend to seek medical care quickly. Thus, morbidity is directly related to the severity of the initial wound and delayed infectious complications appear to be minimal. Guidelines for management include irrigation, debridement as necessary, empiric antibiotics, consideration of tetanus and rabies immunization, and primary wound closure or surgical reconstruction. The differences between dog bites and human bites to the genitalia—primarily interval to presentation and subsequent likelihood of infection—are summarized. Measures to prevent dog bites are discussed.