A brave surfer who narrowly escaped death after he was bitten by a shark and lost his leg has undergone surgery and remains in a stable condition.
Kai McKenzie, 23, was attacked by a 3m great white shark at North Shore Beach in Port Macquarie, on the NSW mid-north coast, at about 11am on Tuesday.
Mr McKenzie managed to make it back to shore while his severed leg was found washed up on the beach and immediately placed on ice.
The 23-year-old was rushed to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle with severe blood loss before he underwent a mammoth operation on Wednesday.
His family have asked for privacy and it is unclear whether or not his leg has been reattached.
The development comes after shark attack trauma surgeon Randy Bindra revealed the difficulty of attempting to reattach a severed limb.
‘The first thing is making sure the patient can withstand a very long operative procedure,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
‘You’re looking at least six to eight hours, significant blood loss and multiple teams working together.’
Kai McKenzie, 23 (pictured), was attacked by what was is believed to be a 3 metre great white shark at North Shore Beach in Port Macquarie on Tuesday morning
Despite being in a critical condition, Mr McKenzie was described as ‘calm’ and ‘able to talk’ and was airlifted to major trauma centre John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle
Professor Bindra said the second factor is the condition of the nerves and tendons and that time is critical.
He said the state of the bone and tissue is also crucial, the tissue starts to quickly die once the the circulation to an extremity has been cut off.
‘If there’s bone and tissue loss you’re going to end up with one leg shorter than the other, we can’t have that.’
Professor Bindra said Mr McKenzie had already beaten the hardest obstacle by surviving the first few hours after the attack and the initial blood loss.
He said Mr McKenzie faces a long road to recovery: six to eight weeks if the limb is not reattached and at least one year if surgery is successful.
Professor Bindra added dealing with the mental side of such a traumatic injury is always more difficult than the physical side.
‘The trauma of near-death can stay with you for a very long time, as well as the trauma of losing a limb.’
An off-duty police officer is credited with saving Mr McKenzie’s life after he used his dog’s leash as a makeshift tourniquet to stem the loss of blood.
Mr McKenzie’s surfboard is pictured following the horrific shark attack at North Shore Beach in Port Macquarie on Tuesday morning
Australia’s foremost shark attack trauma surgeon, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Gold Coast University Hospital Randy Bindra (pictured) revealed what would be involved if Mr McKenzie’s leg was to be reattached
Despite being in a critical condition, Mr McKenzie was described as ‘calm’ and ‘able to talk’ and was airlifted to the major trauma centre at the Newcastle hospital.
His devastated loved ones rushed to his bedside and have made the bleak admission Mr McKenzie faces a ‘long road to recovery’ regardless of whether or not the limb can be reattached.
Mr McKenzie’s neighbour Lauren Mac confirmed the 23-year-old had undergone surgery, but would not clarify the nature of the operation.
‘This is all the family wants released at this time,’ she said.
Ms Mac has created a GoFundMe in the wake of the attack which has so far raised over $130,000 for the young surfer.
‘Kai is currently in John Hunter Hospital where he has had surgery and is in a stable condition,’ she wrote.
‘Please dig deep for this family to assist with Kai’s recovery and rehabilitation.’
Ms Mac said the prospect of losing his leg was a shocking blow to the young surfer who had only just returned to the water after fracturing his neck.
‘His mum and dad told me it’s going to be a long road to recovery regardless of the outcome.’
The surfing community has rallied around the young surfer, including his sponsor Rage who shared a heartfelt Instagram post on Wednesday.
‘Sending love to Kai, the youngest RAGE boy on the team and the toughest person that we know,’ it read.
