Kyrgyz boy, 6, gets a new life in Korea after attack by three large dogs left his skull exposed

[Financial News] “When I go back to school, I’ll study and read books diligently.” Umar, a 6-year-old boy from Kyrgyzstan who suffered a wound so severe that his skull was exposed and stood at death’s door, returned home smiling after completing treatment in Korea.
A team led by Professor Choi Jong-woo of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Asan Medical Center said it had invited Umar, a young patient from Kyrgyzstan whose scalp was about 80% damaged in an attack by large dogs, to Korea and successfully treated him. Umar returned home in good health on the 15th, six months after meeting the Asan Medical Center medical team during its visit to Kyrgyzstan in April to share medical expertise.
Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian country whose land is about 80% mountainous highlands. Its complex terrain makes transportation difficult, and its poor medical infrastructure means residents often cannot receive appropriate treatment in time.
Umar lived in the capital, Bishkek. On April 1, while returning home after playing at a neighbor’s house and climbing over a fence, he lost his balance and fell into the neighboring yard. At that moment, three large dogs in the yard charged at him.
Umar suffered severe scalp injuries that exposed his skull. An area measuring 25 cm by 25 cm—about 80% of his scalp—was damaged, and he also sustained a skull fracture.
A police officer on patrol found him and took him to a nearby hospital, but local medical staff said, “We’ve never seen a case like this. There’s nothing we can do.” The only treatment available to Umar was antibiotics to prevent infection.
His parents even looked into getting treatment in Turkey, but airfare and surgery together would have cost about $100,000 (approximately 130 million won). It was an amount the family could not afford: they had no steady income and, with their five children, lived on a monthly pension worth about 300,000 won, no more than half the local average monthly wage.
The turning point came when the Asan Medical Center medical team visited Kyrgyzstan. After hearing that the team would be visiting to share medical expertise, local medical staff asked for help. Four people, including Professor Seo Hyun-seok of plastic surgery, took part in the five-day medical training program at Bishkek National Hospital starting April 25. They shared expertise in wound care and microsurgical techniques through demonstrations of patient surgeries and the establishment of a local breast reconstruction system, among other activities.
Professor Seo Hyun-seok, who visited the National Children’s Hospital where Umar was admitted, said, “The defect was very extensive, and with the skull exposed, it was an emergency situation in which complications were a concern. We judged that it would be best to transfer him to Korea for treatment, since this was a highly complex operation that would be difficult to perform locally.”
Umar arrived in Korea on July 9 and underwent detailed examinations at Asan Medical Center to prepare for surgery.
Professor Choi Jong-woo initially considered a free-flap procedure, transferring skin tissue from another part of the body, such as the thigh or abdomen, to the scalp and connecting tiny blood vessels. But it was difficult to obtain enough tissue from the small-framed Umar to cover the extensive defect. Also, if tissue from another area were used to cover it, hair would not grow at the site, leaving him to live without hair for the rest of his life.
Taking the child’s future into account, Professor Choi chose tissue expansion, along with a skin graft, to gradually stretch the remaining scalp and cover the defect. Tissue expansion involves placing a silicone expander under the skin and injecting saline solution to slowly stretch the skin and scalp.
However, less than 20% of his scalp remained, leaving too little room even to place an expander. The medical team first grafted skin from his thigh to make room, then inserted three expanders into the remaining scalp on July 21.
The team then gradually expanded the scalp in stages, adjusting the pace to avoid damaging the expanders. There were setbacks, including the wound reopening and fevers, but medical teams from dermatology, pediatric infectious diseases and radiology worked together to respond quickly.
After more than two months of tissue expansion, the medical team removed the expanders on September 29 and successfully performed reconstructive surgery, using the expanded scalp to cover the exposed skull.
After safely coming through major surgery, Umar regained his bright smile. He had taken his first-ever flight to receive treatment, and headed home dreaming of becoming a pilot. The Asan Foundation and Asan Medical Center covered all of his treatment costs, and the Seoul Dongbu Foreign Residents Center provided interpretation.
Professor Choi explained, “The scalp defect was so extensive that it was not easy to decide on a reconstruction method. I chose a method that would use as much of the remaining scalp as possible, considering not only how to cover the defect but also the life the child would lead as he grew up.” He added, “I hope Umar, who remained bright and spirited even during the difficult treatment, will continue to grow up healthy after returning to his home country and fulfill his dreams for the future.”
His mother, Narkiza, 41, said, “When I saw the injury at the time of the accident, I was so frightened, thinking something might happen to my child. I was devastated when I heard there was no way to treat him in Kyrgyzstan, but by a real miracle, we met the doctors at Asan Medical Center.”

Meanwhile, Asan Medical Center has shared medical expertise on 20 occasions in four countries, including Mongolia and Vietnam, since 2019 through its Asan-in-Asia project, which supports healthcare self-reliance in Asian countries. Since 2009, the Asan Foundation has carried out 60 overseas medical volunteer missions in 15 countries and also runs a program that brings seriously ill patients who cannot be treated locally to Korea for free treatment.


[email protected] Jeong Myeong-jin, Medical Correspondent Reporter