[Dog bites on the face. Apropos of 200 cases]

A series of 200 patients bitten on the face by a dog between January 1979 and December 1990 was reviewed. The aim of the study was to assess our attitude of delayed sutures and to determine the origin of the dogs, their behaviour, and the circumstances of the bites. In this series, 146/200 patients (73%) were less than 15 years old and 85/200 (43%) less than 5 years old; most adults bitten had a job at risk. The rate of infectious complications was 2.5%. There were 70% (105/150) dogs from an identifiable breed (25% (38/150) pedigree) and 30% (45/150) mongrels. In 70% of the cases the victim did not know or hardly knew the dog. The study of our series and others previously published clearly demonstrates that a dog bite must never be sutured directly. By calculating the incidence of dog bite for each particular breed in France, we conclude that, with very few exceptions, no breed is more aggressive than another. Reducing the rate of dog bites implies better knowledge of dogs and respect for some common sense rules, both on the part of children and dog owners.