How People Survive Amputation
Survive Amputation Amputated Legs When the Boston Marathon turned into a life-or-death situation for so many runners and spectators Monday, several who survived expressed immediate gratitude -- even those who lost limbs in the attack. But how does the body survive without an arm or a leg? The immediate trauma is physical: According to medical reports, two of Monday’s 10 or so amputees lost their limbs at the site of the bombings. The others underwent surgical amputation at the hospital. Loss of blood is the main life-threatening concern, doctors said. Near the finish line, doctors and bystanders wrapped gauze tourniquets around legs. "The major risk at that point is that you bleed to death," said Dr. Alberto Esquenazi, chairman of Einstein Healthcare Network's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and chief medical officer for MossRehab Medical Center in Pennsylvania. "If there's nothing to hold the blood, you go into cardio shock, an...