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Severe frostbite injury in a 19-year-old patient requiring amputation of both distal forearms and lower legs due to delayed rescue: a need for advanced accident collision notification systems?

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Abstract

Frostbite injury is a rare but severe injury especially when rescue triage is prolonged. We here report the case of a 19-year-old male patient with severe frostbite injuries requiring amputation of both distal forearms and both lower legs due to delayed admission to medical care. This case demonstrates that even mild ambient temperatures can cause deleterious injuries if the exposure time is long enough paralleling our knowledge of burn trauma. Immediate admission to medical care is, therefore, paramount and GPS-based automated accident collision notification systems would therefore be of great benefit especially in rural areas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hand, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, BG-Burn and Trauma Center Ludwigshafen, University of Heidelberg, Ludwigshafen, Germany

    Oliver Kloeters, Henning Ryssel & Marcus Lehnhardt

  2. Department of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, BG-Burn and Trauma Center Ludwigshafen, University of Heidelberg, Ludwigshafen, Germany

    Arnold J. Suda

  3. Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery, BG-Burn and Trauma Center Ludwigshafen, University of Heidelberg, Ludwig-Guttmannstr.13, 67071, Ludwigshafen, Germany

    Oliver Kloeters

Authors
  1. Oliver Kloeters
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  2. Henning Ryssel
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  3. Arnold J. Suda
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  4. Marcus Lehnhardt
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Correspondence to Oliver Kloeters.

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Kloeters, O., Ryssel, H., Suda, A.J. et al. Severe frostbite injury in a 19-year-old patient requiring amputation of both distal forearms and lower legs due to delayed rescue: a need for advanced accident collision notification systems?. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 131, 875–878 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-011-1267-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-011-1267-8

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