358 leeches used to reconstruct woman`s face

London: A huge chunk of a woman`s face bitten off during a horrific dog attack was reconstructed by Swedish surgeons using 358 leeches, a media report said Wednesday.

Her relatives managed to recover the loose skin, spanning from her upper lip to her eye, and keep it chilled. The incident took place last month. During the 15-hour procedure, experts at Skane University Hospital in Malmo used the leeches to force blood to flow into the damaged skin, Daily Mail reported. The leeches helped re-start circulation through their sucking and blood-thinning fluids. "The grower who supplies the hospital with leeches ran out, so more had to be flown in from the UK," the Mail said quoting surgeon Stina Klasson. IANS