Miami flesh-eating victim 'in high spirits' after three operations

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/12/miami-flesh-eating-victim-operations

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The victim of a face-eating attack in Miami last month is in good spirits and is expected to survive, despite losing half his face in the assault, doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital said Tuesday.

Ronald Poppo, 65, lost half his face in the May 26 assault – less than previously reported. The hospital released new photos of the victim. (Warning: graphic pictures.)

"I'm very pleased to say Mr Poppo is doing very well today," said Dr Nicholas Namias, the head of trauma at Jackson Memorial, in an afternoon news conference. "We see all sorts of awful wounds. The guy has got to be a survivor."

Poppo lost his left eye and currently cannot see out of his right eye, although he may recover some vision, surgeon Wrood Kassira said. Poppo also has two holes in his chest, doctors said, possibly caused by a bullet.

Police shot and killed Poppo's attacker, Rudy Eugene, 31, when he ignored their orders to cease the assault. Surveillance video footage and witness reports show that before the attack, Eugene stripped naked and was hanging from a pole on the MacArthur Causeway between Miami Beach and downtown Miami.

Poppo, who is homeless, lived near the road. The attack lasted about 18 minutes.

Despite his condition, the victim showed high spirits, his surgeons said. He even gave the doctors a message before the news conference: "Go Heat." The Miami Heat basketball team plays in the first game of the NBA finals Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Poppo has had three surgeries so far and will require a number of additional procedures, doctors said. He is expected to stay at the trauma center for "weeks at least".

"He is missing features that identified who he was before this trauma," Kassira said. "He will need multiple surgeries in the future for reconstruction."

A funeral for Eugene was held Saturday. Family and friends remembered him as a generous person and a man of faith. The local CBS News affiliate reported that pages torn out from a Bible were found at the scene of the attack.

An autopsy revealed undigested pills of an unspecified nature in Eugene's stomach. His blood tested positive for marijuana.