MIAMI — Surgeons at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center are detailing the injuries a Pinecrest boy sustained when he was bitten by a shark earlier in the week.
Richard Burrows, 8, has been released from the hospital after a nearly three-hour surgery to repair his arm and leg.
“They were big, longitudinal cuts that were down to the bone and to the knee joint,” said Dr. Vicente Nelson, a trauma surgeon.
On Monday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Burrows, his sister and their father were spearfishing near Horseshoe Reef off Key Largo when a shark got hold of the boy’s leg.
“He lost a lot of blood,” Nelson said.
Dr. Brian Grottkau, JMH’s chief of pediatric orthopedics, said Burrows was excited to get back on the water.
“He was asking me when he could get back out there because he likes spearfishing,” he said.
Spearfishing is generally prohibited in the Upper Keys.
On Thursday, a spokesperson with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told Local 10 the agency is not investigating any spearfishing allegations related to this incident.
Doctors said Burrows will need to heal before starting physical therapy and expect him to make a full recovery.
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