Man undergoes emergency surgery after being bitten by spider

Dean Vipond's spider bite before he had surgery at Hull Royal Infirmary to flush out the wound
-Credit:Dean Vipond


A man was bitten by spider and didn't think much of it until his hand turned bright red and swelled dramatically in size.

Dean Vipond, 40, said he was bitten on Saturday morning and his symptoms began just an hour later. When he went to Hull Royal Infirmary, he was told he needed emergency surgery on his hand and a full course of antibiotics.

It remains a mystery as to what species of spider bit Dean's hand because he never saw the culprit. But he said he was told by medics that injuries from spider bites as severe as his are extremely rare.

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Dean told Hull Live: "I was in a friend's back garden because I was climbing over his fence to undo his back gate because he'd lost his front door key. As I put my hand over the gate, I must have been bitten by the spider.

"I didn't notice it straight away. I noticed it about half an hour later when my hand started to get inflamed and go red. There were pink stripes where the spider bit me."

The spider bite wound after Dean had surgery
The spider bite wound after Dean had surgery -Credit:Dean Vipond

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On Sunday, Dean woke up and said his hand "was like a balloon". He said: "It was inflamed and all red. It was going up my arm, all the redness.

"I went to hospital and they sent me down to theatre to get all the poison out my hand. They opened it up and took all the poison out. I went back [to hospital] yesterday to check it is healing OK and I've got to go back Friday."

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Dean said it's "just mad" to have such a severe injury from a spider. He said when he shows people the photos of his bite and stitches from surgery they can't believe it. He said he was happy with how quickly it was dealt with at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Although he's had a particularly nasty experience, Dean said it would take more than that to make him afraid. When asked if his opinion of spiders had changed, he said: "I ain't scared of them, but I'd give it a wide berth."