Chief surgeon of Ukraine's Armed Forces: Around 70% of amputations due to limb detachment
About 70% of amputations performed on servicemembers are the result of limb detachment, and about 30% are due to post-tourniquet syndrome, said Colonel of the Medical Service and Chief Surgeon of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kostiantyn Humeniuk.
"As of today, the percentage of amputations associated with limb detachment is higher than those caused by post-tourniquet syndrome. If we take 100% of all performed amputations, about 70% are amputations resulting from limb detachment. The remaining nearly 30% are amputations related to post-tourniquet syndrome," Humeniuk said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.
The colonel noted that during the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) and Joint Forces Operation (JFO), post-tourniquet syndrome was hardly ever an issue because the wounded were quickly transported to surgical care facilities. However, today it is very difficult to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield due to the high activity of drones, and therefore tourniquets often remain applied for many hours, Humeniuk explained.
"So once our combat situation improves and we can quickly evacuate the wounded from the battlefield, believe me, the percentage of post-tourniquet syndrome will practically disappear," the Chief Surgeon said.