Prosthetic arm for Bengaluru techie as crocodile bites off forearm

Bengaluru, June 26 (SURYAA) A 26-year-old city techie will soon have a prosthetic arm fitted, after a crocodile bit off his left forearm in a nearby lake on Sunday, said a private hospital doctor on Monday.

"As the crocodile has bitten off and chewed Mudit Dandwate's left forearm in a freak mishap, we will fit a prosthetic arm to the left shoulder joint over the next two months," Hosmat Hospital Director Thomas Chandy told IANS here.

A day after Dandwate survived the bizarre croc attack in the Thattakere lake near a Hindu temple, about 40km from the city's southern outskirts in the neighbouring Ramanagara district, doctors removed the dead tissues from the remaining part of his left arm.

"As Dandwate's left arm below the elbow was fully damaged in the attack, he will have to use a prosthetic arm in place of the natural forearm," reiterated Chandy.

Doctors dressed up the wounded arm after removing the dead tissues in a surgery.

"He is recovering from the injury, though it (wound) will take two months to heal and be fit for the prosthetic arm," added Chandy.

The tragic incident occurred when Dandwate drove to the spot with his girl friend and two dogs in tow on a weekend trip from the city for trekking in the reserved forest.

Ignoring warnings from the forest guards, the victim entered the cool lake waters for a swim with the two dogs when the dreaded reptile surfaced from beneath and grabbed his forearm to drag him down for feasting on him.

"It's a miracle Dandwate escaped from the young croc's attack, as it's very difficult to escape from its deadly jaws," said a forest official later.

The guards and four forest officials entered the lake and fished out Dandwate in time after his friend screamed for help and the dogs started barking.

"By the time we pulled him out of the lake, the reptile had chewed off his forearm and dived into the lake bed," said the official.

Dandwate, an IITian from Nagpur in Maharashtra, runs a healthcare startup in the city's eastern suburb.