A human bite doesn’t sound like the kind of thing that could almost cost you a limb. But doctors will tell you it’s nastier than a dog bite, and a 60-year-old shopkeeper in Istanbul learned that in the worst way.
During a robbery attempt, a thief sank his teeth into the man’s hand so hard he nearly lost his arm. The attack happened in early 2024, though it only came to light recently when Turkish doctors documented the case in a medical journal.
Two masked men burst into the shop in Üsküdar after closing. The owner fought back and managed to pin one of them. In a last-ditch effort to escape, the thief latched onto his hand with a bite that forced him to let go. Then, both suspects fled.
Shopkeeper’s Arm Nearly Amputated After Thief Bit Them
The case, covered by Demirören News Agency, shows how quickly things unraveled. The shopkeeper’s hand was treated at a clinic, and he was sent home. Within days, he developed a fever and tremors.
By the time he reached Istanbul’s Sultan Abdulhamid Han Training and Research Hospital, his arm was swollen to twice its size and beginning to turn color. “Bacteria from the human oral flora can cause serious problems by penetrating the subcutaneous tissue,” Dr. Yavuz Aslan told DHA.
For two weeks, doctors fought the infection with no progress. Amputation was on the table. As a last resort, they tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which forces oxygen into infected tissue to kill bacteria and speed healing. It worked. The swelling shrank within days, surgeons removed dead tissue, and months of physiotherapy restored full use of his arm.
The case is now cited in medical literature as evidence of the dangers posed by human bites. A mouthful of bacteria is enough to overwhelm antibiotics and wreck healthy tissue in days. The shopkeeper, meanwhile, says he’s just grateful to have his arm. He even faced another robbery attempt not long after, thankfully, with no teeth involved.
Doctors are using his story as a warning: the most minor wound can spiral into something catastrophic. All it took was a single bite to put a man’s future on the edge of amputation.
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