A woman was attacked by a Cane Corso dog and left with a shattered voice box.
She was rushed to Beaumont Hospital in north Dublin, where surgeons operated and had to slice a hole in her neck as her airway had completely collapsed.
The Cane Corso breed is unrestricted in Ireland. It is also legal to own one in the UK. The dog in this incident was known to the woman it attacked, but not owned by her.
The force of the bite left the woman with two puncture wounds on the front of her neck, and caused her throat cartilage to splinter into pieces. It is the type of injury usually seen in high-speed car crashes, Dublin Live reports.
The woman also suffered from surgical emphysema – a terrifying condition where air leaks from the windpipe and becomes trapped under the skin.
The attack itself was described as unprovoked, and the animal was euthanised shortly afterwards. The case was detailed in the April 2026 issue of the Irish Medical Journal.
Doctors described laryngeal trauma following a dog bite as a “rare but potentially life-threatening injury”.
Doctors also noted that it is more commonly seen in children. Because she had “stridor” – which is noisy, labored breathing – and surgical emphysema, the team at Beaumont had to perform an emergency tracheostomy to bypass the crushed larynx before performing complex reconstruction.
She required a laryngeal stent to keep the airway open for two weeks, and multiple follow-up procedures. Miraculously, the medical team described an “optimal recovery”.
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The tracheostomy was successfully decannulated, meaning the tube was removed and she was able to breathe normally on her own. A follow-up examination (flexible nasendoscopy) confirmed her vocal cords were moving normally.
This indicated that she retained both the structural and neurological function of her voice box, and she then underwent specialised speech and language therapy to help restore her ability to swallow and speak.
The Cane Corso is a large, muscular Italian mastiff breed historically used as a guardian. They can grow up to 28 inches at the shoulder and weigh more than 100lbs.