AN experienced surgeon who was bitten on the finger by a drunken British tourist today said he was considering suing his attacker.

Frank Stafford faces weeks of uncertainty over the damage caused during the savage attack after performing a long operation on the Caribbean holiday island of Barbados.

The Newcastle-based ear, nose and throat expert may lose the tip of his left index finger, which would leave him unable to carry out the delicate surgery he has pioneered in Britain treating people who have had tumours removed.

From the Bayview Hospital, Bridgetown, Barbados, where he was due to work for two weeks, he said: ''It is terrible, I don't know whether I will be able to operate again.

"This is very upsetting. What can I say? It is unbelievable."

The father-of-three said the wound might be infected, and if the bone has been damaged he could lose the tip of his finger.

"That would be a disaster for me," he said.

The surgeon, who lives in Jesmond, Newcastle, said he could not understand why he was attacked by the 17-year-old, from London.

The teenager appeared in court the next day and was fined 600 Barbados dollars - about £200 - and left the island that day.

Mr Stafford said yesterday: "I am going to seek legal advice when I get back. It was totally stupid and pointless.

"Being roughed around is one thing, but he deliberately bit through my finger and it took a considerable effort to get him off."

Mr Stafford said he has cancelled all his planned surgery at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital for the next month, but hoped to arrange for colleagues to cover his operations.