Woman scarred by dog attack becomes medical student, trains with doctor who treated her
Twenty-two-year-old medical student Jamie Harris is studying at the University of Florida College of Medicine to become a dermatologist and specialize in treating pediatric patients with traumatic scarring, three years after she was viciously attacked by a dog and left with her own set of scars.
"Every time I look in the mirror, I see my motivation. It's always a part of me and I know exactly what I'm working towards every single day when I wake up in the morning," Harris told ABC News, speaking about how the attack prompted her to pursue her focus in dermatology.
Harris is a member of the Medical Honors Program at the University of Florida, a highly selective accelerated program that allows students to earn both a B.S. and an M.D. in seven years.
On Sept. 11, 2020, during her final year of undergraduate studies prior to starting medical school coursework, Harris went to her friend's apartment to study. A couple hours in, they decided to take a study break and watch TV, while accompanied by her friend's newly-adopted dog, who had been warming up to Harris since she arrived that afternoon.
The three of them were huddled up on the couch when Harris said the dog, without any clear motive, lunged onto her and clamped down directly underneath her right eye and forehead, while also scratching at her chin and neck. Harris' friend, the dog's owner, managed to pull the dog off from Harris and lock the dog in a nearby room.
In shock, Harris ran to the bathroom to try to check the damage in the mirror before her friends rushed her to the emergency room. "It was all a blur," she said. "Still to this day, I ask myself 'What did I do? Why did it attack me?'"
Harris spent nearly five adrenaline-induced hours in the waiting room, constantly having to switch out her bloody surgical face masks for clean ones. "I [went back and forth] between complete denial and survival mode every few minutes," she said.
From the front desk staff to the nurses to the doctors, Harris eventually received top-tier care at UF Health Shands Hospital, where the plastic surgeons sutured her face in under an hour and sent her home. However, once reality started to kick in, she said, "It then hit me how bad the damage was after convincing myself in the waiting room that it would be just a small scar on the side of my face."
Harris was ultimately forced to come to terms with the massive scarring that stretched down from her forehead to her chin. In the Zoom meeting era when you are facing an entire gallery of people at a time, she said, "I was constantly reminded about my injury."
"I was forced to look at myself all day and think about the attack," she said.
Still, Harris insisted she "couldn't have been luckier with my support system," referring to her family and friends.
After seeing her daughter's confidence plunge, Harris' mother Mary Leigh Harris was determined to find a solution after multiple doctors refused to operate on Harris' scars too early.
She contacted Dr. Dhaval G. Bhanusali from Hudson Dermatology and Laser Surgery, who previously operated on Bridger Walker, the then-6-year-old boy who saved his sister from a dog attack in July 2020 and underwent a two-hour surgery that required nearly 100 stitches. Bridger was later dubbed a "hero" and received support from several A-list celebrities on social media.
Bhanusali agreed to treat Harris' scars right away. "He changed my life," said Harris. "He was the first person to tell me that I was going to be OK. Hearing that was enough. It was the first time someone was on my side who could actually do something."
Bhanusali's approach to medicine, particularly in cases like Harris', involves treating patients as soon and as aggressively as possible. "Traditional belief was that you had to wait at least a year to treat any traumatic scar [and] subsequent studies have shown that the ideal time to treat any scar is as soon as possible. I tend to treat within days of suture removal," Bhanusali told ABC News.
Bhanusali's treatment plan for Harris included three sessions with a Sciton Erbium laser to retexturize the scar and a Cutera XLV+ laser to help with redness. In a process called Device Assisted Precision Therapy, he used the lasers to deliver topical steroids into Harris' scars to help with product penetration.
Finally, when nearing the end of treatment, he incorporated traditional steroid injections to soften any residual scar tissue.
Coupled with a custom compounded scar cream, Harris' scars practically disappeared in about six months. "Humanity in medicine is the most important part," said Bhanusali. "I was lucky to have been connected with Jamie and am happy I could help."
Harris and Bhanusali's story, however, didn't end there. As a medical student, Harris now shadows Bhanusali at his office in New York, where she gets to sit in on his procedures and meet with his patients, helping her to get a feel for the day-to-day of working in a busy dermatology practice. Harris also hopes to learn directly from the doctor that operated on her the techniques that were used to treat her traumatic scars.
In addition to the hands-on medical experience, Harris is working to mirror the bedside manner she received from Bhanusali and his staff.
"I want to pay forward all the compassion and excellent care I was shown," she said. "Every single person was rooting for me in that office and Dr. Bhanusali treated me like his family -- just like he treats every one of his patients."
Overcoming traumatic scars pushed Harris to want to help other scar patients in her medical pursuits, particularly children who must deal with their trauma before developing the mental and emotional maturity to understand what is happening.
"She will hold on to this experience and be able to empathize with every patient moving forward, and will be a much better doctor because of it," said Bhanusali.
To anyone dealing with scars of their own, Harris added, "Your concerns aren't superficial. I get it, and I am fighting for you. I am trying to be the person that is there to improve your chance of recovery."
