Broken bones that cause open wounds are frequent injuries in devastating earthquakes — a combination that causes a particularly high risk of infection and can lead to amputation.
LES CAYES, Haiti — The home of clothing merchant Felix Pierre Genel collapsed before he could flee outside as a powerful. He was dug out of the rubble that same day with a broken arm and was among the somewhat fortunate ones who promptly received medical care at a local hospital. But even so, he could not escape amputation, a common consequence of the calamity.
“The risk of infections goes up the longer you wait to get care, and some of that is related to access to health care, not all of it,” said Dr. Christopher Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. The ability to get medical attention also was complicated by a tropical storm that trailed the earthquake and the two-day closure of a major hospital in the capital of Port-au-Prince to protest the kidnapping of two doctors, including one of the country’s few orthopedic surgeons.
The organization estimated the number of amputations at between 2,000 and 4,000, with at least 1,000 people requiring a lower limb prosthesis. Governments too have sent aid to southwestern Haiti, including the U.S. military, whose USS Arlington arrived with a surgical team.
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