This war is change the tune on tourniquets, some 75,000 amputations were apparent required because of them.
Don's Weekly, 6 October 2025: Part 3 (Ukraine, Tourniquets, Diplomacy)
Interesting observation....
I'm no expert, but I found this article of interest:
‘Cult’ of tourniquets causing thousands of unnecessary amputations and deaths in Ukraine, say surgeons
The strong bands are used to stop catastrophic bleeding – but if left on for too long they can cause tissue death
The tourniquet has saved many thousands of lives and limbs in war zones around the world, but misuse of the device is causing huge numbers of excess amputations and deaths in Ukraine, say top military surgeons.
Captain Rom A Stevens, a retired senior US medical navy officer who has served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and East Africa, estimates that of the roughly 100,000 amputations
performed on Ukrainian soldiers since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, as many as 75,000 were caused by improper use of tourniquets.
“I’ve seen tourniquets that have been left on for days, often for injuries that could have been stopped by other methods. Then [the patient] has to have their limb amputated because the tissue has died,” Captain Stevens told The Telegraph.
Tourniquets are strong bands used to stop catastrophic bleeding by cutting off blood flow, and are standard issue for most modern armies.
But if left on over two hours, they can cause tissue death, meaning the arm or leg which has the tourniquet on is no longer viable and requires amputation.
The device became standard-issue in the 2000s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where rapid air evacuation to military surgical teams was possible in under 60 minutes. If the tourniquet was unnecessary it was removed, and no harm was done.
But in Ukraine, where the skies are infested with drones, injured soldiers are evacuated by land, often far exceeding the safe time window for tourniquet use.