Doctors Reattach Arm of Boy Bitten by Pet Tiger

Surgeons reattached a 4-year-old boy’s right arm Thursday after it was bitten off by his uncle’s pet Bengal tiger when the child reached into the animal’s cage.

Surgeon Mark H. Henry said Jayton Tidwell will never have full use of the limb, but “he should be able to move on and live a very normal type of life.”

Jayton, whose arm was ripped off Wednesday between the shoulder and elbow, underwent nine hours of surgery at Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital. He was in serious condition Thursday and should be hospitalized at least a week, Henry said.

Doctors worried that bacteria from the tiger’s mouth might infect the wound or that blood clotting could complicate the reattachment.

The Bengal tiger was kept in the backyard of the boy’s uncle, Larry Tidwell, in a working-class and industrial section east of Houston. The animal attacked when the child stuck his arm through a gap in its chain-link cage, authorities said.

Neighbor Tracy Olivas, who called the tiger “a really nice and passive animal,” said she rushed from her home when she heard Jayton’s “bloodcurdling scream.”

While Olivas’ husband and Tidwell’s wife coaxed the tiger to one side of the cage, Tidwell’s son retrieved the boy’s arm. They packed the limb in ice, and an emergency medical team took it to the hospital with the boy.

Dr. Richard Bradley, the attending physician, said Jayton was conscious when he arrived. “He was actually doing surprisingly well,” Bradley said. “He looked like a typical [child] coming in on an ambulance: scared, anxious, a little tearful.”

Tidwell was cited for keeping a dangerous animal without a permit.