Woman has part of ear reattached after bite attack

A Rotorua woman has had a piece of her ear reattached after it was bitten off in a fight early this morning.

The woman, 23, had been drinking with friends in central Rotorua and got into a fight with a group of about three people on Haupapa St about 1.30am.

She was punched and kicked and a "sizeable portion", probably more than half of her right ear, was bitten off, said Senior Sergeant Dennis Murphy, of Rotorua police.

The woman was transferred from Rotorua to Waikato Hospital where surgeons spent several hours reattaching her ear this afternoon.

A hospital spokeswoman said she was in a stable condition and medical staff would monitor whether the surgery was successful.

Police had not yet spoken to the woman and would likely talk to her tomorrow.

- NZPA