# Hypothetical: Can a vet amputate a human limb? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597 "2010-09-22T00:33:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/21 "2010-09-22T15:40:18Z")
> [@TomGorstaad](#): > > Title pretty much asks the question: Could a veterinarian successfully amputate a human limb? > > I know nothing about surgery, but I can’t see much difference between animal amputation and human amputation. People with far less training and knowledge than a vet used to amputate limbs all the time and the patients often survived. I’m thinking “surgeons” on naval vessels and, to a lesser extent, in field hospitals during the Napoleonic wars and the Civil War. When a cannon ball or rifle ball shattered a limb, you’d be lucky to get someone with any medical training besides the ability to pull teeth and wield a bone saw. Bonus points if they were sober. So yeah, someone with a knowledge of anesthesia, sepsis, and the ability to ligate vessels instead of simply sticking the limb in boiling pitch would be a vast improvement. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/22 "2010-09-22T15:54:58Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > > [@Gruntled](#): > > > > Why are you calling him an idiot? 😕 > > Seriously! I call him “that guy who will never, ever have to buy his own drink in any bar in the world as long as he’ll live”. I just wonder what he would have done if confronted with prom-night bathroom scene in _Somehting About Mary_. ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/23 "2010-09-22T16:53:39Z")
Veterinarian here. The medical training is there. Most veterinarians couldn’t preserve the right nerves and blood supply in the right way to attach some advanced prothesis if such things exist. But in terms of leaving a relatively non-painful stump that something could be fit to - no doubt. Veterinarians are notorious for performing minor surgeries and other medical procedures on themselves - and treating themselves with medications they deem appropriate. I know of one that performed his own vasectomy using local anesthetic and mirrors. The primary reason is that they don’t trust M.D. to do it any better than they can do themselves and they hate paying huge prices for stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/24 "2010-09-22T17:07:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nah, _real_ doctors make a substantive and original contribution to human knowledge. The medical bit is incidental to that. True dat. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/25 "2010-09-22T17:14:19Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](#): > > Veterinarians are notorious for performing minor surgeries and other medical procedures on themselves - and treating themselves with medications they deem appropriate. I know of one that performed his own vasectomy using local anesthetic and mirrors. Wow. The only thing that scares me more than someone else cutting my junk is being crazy enough to cut my own junk. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/26 "2010-09-22T17:24:32Z")
> [@Gruntled](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > There was that idiot hiker a while back who got pinned under a boulder and successfully amputated his _own_ arm. > > Why are you calling him an idiot? 😕 [Aron Ralston’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aron_Ralston) main idiocy was going hiking in a remote area without letting anyone know of his plans or where to look for him if he didn’t return. If he had, there was a good chance he would have been found long before he had to resort to cutting his arm off. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/27 "2010-09-22T17:28:08Z")
> [@Gruntled](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > There was that idiot hiker a while back who got pinned under a boulder and successfully amputated his _own_ arm. > > Why are you calling him an idiot? 😕 He wasn’t much of an idiot, _usually_. He was a mechanical engineer who was a very experienced outdoorsman. But that particular day he did make some uncharacteristic, dumb choices. Mainly, he didn’t tell anyone where he was going, which he normally did. So when he had some bad luck, he was pretty screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/28 "2010-09-22T18:54:52Z")
Am I nuts or am I remembering that the guy who had to cut that trapped lady’s leg off after the Oklahoma City bombing was a dentist? I know I’m remembering correctly that he had to do the last little bit with his pocket knife. And they could only give her Novocain. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/29 "2010-09-22T19:03:04Z")
Not telling anyone where he was going was one facet of it. Then combine that with going alone, and not bringing any communication device. Undo any of those mistakes, and he’d still have both arms. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/30 "2010-09-22T19:11:32Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Am I nuts or am I remembering that the guy who had to cut that trapped lady’s leg off after the Oklahoma City bombing was a dentist? I know I’m remembering correctly that he had to do the last little bit with his pocket knife. And they could only give her Novocain. The only dentist I know well is also an MD. He is an oral surgeon and anesthesiologist who does cleft palette reconstructions on his working vacations to the third world. He is the definition of a “[mensch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch)”. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/31 "2010-09-22T19:21:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Not telling anyone where he was going was one facet of it. Then combine that with going alone, and not bringing any communication device. Undo any of those mistakes, and he’d still have both arms. I regularly hike alone in the White Mountains of NH. While friends will have a general idea of where I’m going, I often change plans while on the trail. And while I usually carry a cell phone (turned off) I know that it can’t be relied on in the mountains for reception. Lots (and lots) of people hike alone. While it is a risk, most of us think it is a manageable one or at least one we are willing to accept. That’s my contribution to this hijack. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/32 "2010-09-22T20:00:06Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > While it is a risk, most of us think it is a manageable one or at least one we are willing to accept. Just make sure you have a Leatherman with a serrated blade just in case you have to saw your own leg off. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/33 "2010-09-22T21:01:37Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > > > I think just about anyone could successfully amputate a limb. You just keep hacking at it until it comes off, right? > > “Successful” means more than just removing the limb. You also want the patient to remain alive and leave a stump that will heal properly and you can fix a prosthesis to later on. You may have to ligate the major blood vessels to prevent bleeding to death. **You will also have to make sure the remaining bone does not project beyond the rest of the limb** , and leave muscle and skin flaps that can be sewn over the bone. (my bold) Why would that matter? I’m thinking something like .. gangrene? maybe? would result, but I’m not following the bouncing ball: limb gets cut off, leaving bone sticking out. Tissue at wound area heals. Bone … does what? Please to explain further, please. Bonus points for gory details. ---
**Author:** ![TomGorstaad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@TomGorstaad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomGorstaad)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/34 "2010-09-22T21:03:27Z")
Thank you all for your responses. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/35 "2010-09-22T21:19:58Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Why would that matter? I’m thinking something like .. gangrene? maybe? would result, but I’m not following the bouncing ball: limb gets cut off, leaving bone sticking out. Tissue at wound area heals. Bone … does what? > > Please to explain further, please. Bonus points for gory details. 1. If the bone is not covered by skin, there will be an easy route for infection to enter where the bone meets the muscle and through the marrow cavity of the bone. I don’t think flesh will heal very well around projecting bone, especially since the bone and muscle will move relative to one another every time the muscles flex. 2. Even if it could heal in some way, it would be virtually impossible to fix a prosthesis to a stump with a projecting bone. ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/36 "2010-09-22T22:20:36Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](#): > > Veterinarian here. > > The medical training is there. Most veterinarians couldn’t preserve the right nerves and blood supply in the right way to attach some advanced prothesis if such things exist. But in terms of leaving a relatively non-painful stump that something could be fit to - no doubt. > > Veterinarians are notorious for performing minor surgeries and other medical procedures on themselves - and treating themselves with medications they deem appropriate. I know of one that performed his own vasectomy using local anesthetic and mirrors. The primary reason is that they don’t trust M.D. to do it any better than they can do themselves and they hate paying huge prices for stuff. Another vet here, in full agreement. My sister is a medical doctor, working in general practice. Compared to hers, my surgical skills and experience are far superior. Compared to those of a human soft tissue surgeon, not so much. I can’t imagine many situations where I would amputate a human leg, though. For a successful outcome, I would need an operating theatre, access to anaesthetic drugs, and sterile equipment. If your leg was stuck under a boulder and the only hope of rescue was hacking it off with a swiss army knife, I suppose I could do it a little more neatly than you could yourself, but it would be a pretty awful experience for everyone involved. As for leaving bone protruding from the amputation site, I have seen accidental amputations in animals that heal perfectly with no treatment, but the more likely outcome is an infected mess. Sometimes a dry, blackened stump of bone is left with no soft tissue covering, sometimes skin grows to cover the stump, sometimes the protruding bone breaks off, but often the wound just doesn’t heal. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/37 "2010-09-22T22:27:04Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > > [@Gruntled](#): > > > > Why are you calling him an idiot? 😕 > > Seriously! I call him “that guy who will never, ever have to buy his own drink in any bar in the world as long as he’ll live”. But, sadly, no more double fisting. You know you all thought it. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/38 "2010-09-22T23:28:08Z")
> [@toodlepip](#): > > I can’t imagine many situations where I would amputate a human leg, though. For a successful outcome, I would need an operating theatre, access to anaesthetic drugs, and sterile equipment. If your leg was stuck under a boulder and the only hope of rescue was hacking it off with a swiss army knife, I suppose I could do it a little more neatly than you could yourself, but it would be a pretty awful experience for everyone involved. Dr. Joe Waeckerle is a friend of mine, and he was the first ER physician on the scene at the [Hyatt Regency Hotel “Skybridge” disaster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse). He was in the unenviable position of having to order limbs amputated with a power saw to save a life. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/39 "2010-09-23T00:50:28Z")
> [@](#): > > But, sadly, no more double fisting. > > You know you all thought it. Remarkably, I didn’t. But that just means that he’d have to enlist help from someone else (maybe someone he picked up in a bar, with a tale of how he lost his arm), not that he couldn’t do it. Plus, there’s always stumping. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597/40 "2010-09-23T01:29:47Z")
I have a friend who does some seriously competitive sailboat racing. Among the on board supplies they carry is a hacksaw - specifically, if someone is caught in ship parts and underwater a limb may need to be RAPIDLY amputated to save a life. Generally, no one on board has medical training beyond Boy Scout First Aid. He hasn’t had to perform that task (and hopes he never will) but there are times such a scenario occurs. If the person lives I’d say it was “successful” though yes, emergency transport is called as soon as possible, the person is whisked off to a hospital, and surgeons may be called upon to do some fixing of the resulting stump so proper healing occurs, infection is treated, and (one hopes) a prosthesis can be fitted. OK, that’s a little unusual. Let me put it this way - if I was stuck somewhere in the wilderness/in a post apocalyptic world/some other scenario and there was no people doctor around then my first choice for any medical problem would be a veterinarian. Why? Because people are animals, too. The vet may not be a human specialist, but he or she does have real medical training. After that, I’m looking at a nurse, preferably ex-military or some sort of combat medic, or paramedic. So, define “successful amputation” - does it mean the amputee lives? Then, while medical training helps reduce complications, just about anyone could amputate a limb. If you mean “do so in a manner to minimize infection and give the best chance of healing” yeah, a vet could do it. The vet might be really reluctant to do it, but a vet can do it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-can-a-vet-amputate-a-human-limb/554597.md?page=3)