Woman rushed for life-saving surgery as throat ripped open in Cane Corso dog attack

A woman in her 60s underwent emergency life-saving surgery at Beaumont Hospital in north Dublin after her voice box was shattered during an attack by a Cane Corso dog.

The attack left the woman with two puncture wounds on the front of her neck and caused her throat cartilage to splinter. According to reports from Dublin Live, the resulting injuries are typically associated with high-speed car crashes.

Medical teams at Beaumont Hospital treated the woman for surgical emphysema, a condition where air leaks from the windpipe and becomes trapped under the skin. She also presented with stridor, characterized by noisy and labored breathing.

Due to the collapse of her airway, surgeons performed an emergency tracheostomy to bypass the crushed larynx before beginning complex reconstruction of the throat.

The details of the case were published in the April 2026 issue of the Irish Medical Journal. In the report, doctors described laryngeal trauma resulting from dog bites as a rare but potentially life-threatening injury, noting that such incidents are more commonly observed in children.

The Cane Corso involved in the attack was known to the woman, although she was not the owner of the animal. The attack was described as unprovoked, and the dog was euthanised shortly after the incident.

The Cane Corso breed is currently unrestricted in Ireland and is also legal to own in the United Kingdom.