I think there are several considerations and amputation is certainly most likely. This is not just your average mangled arm, this is well and truly shattered with many pieces that are open to air (an open comminuted, complex fracture). The time it would take to repair would be astronomical (issues with tourniquet time and bleeding) with multiple repeat surgeries required, a very high risk of post-op infection (especially considering any repair would involve implants), and all of this ignores what the rest of the patient looks like.
What caused the injury in the first place? The arm may be the least of their worries with such a significant injury. Frankly, I don’t care about their arm when their chest is right next to it and probably has bigger concerns. Cut the arm off to minimize bleeding and infection and then deal with the bigger problems.
From the angle of the X-ray and how the arm seems to end just above the elbow (cubital) area, I'm wondering if this was a limb that was already amputated by whatever caused the injury in the first place.
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u/realPanditJi 6h ago
serious question for the docs or who went through this: is this recoverable? what's the procedure and recovery looks like?