People generally only chop off limbs in life or death situations.

Limbs are usually straightforward to amputate because they are mostly soft tissues: muscles, nerves and connective tissues surrounding the hard bone.

To sever a limb, the person needs to use force to break their bones – the most difficult tissue to cut through – and then implements such as knives and pliers to break the soft tissues.

They also need tourniquets to tie off blood vessels so they don’t bleed to death. A strong constitution is also useful.

Perhaps the most famous case of limb self-surgery is the one portrayed in the film 127 Hours.

The film recounts the true story of mountaineer Aron Ralston who had to saw off his own arm after it became trapped when a boulder fell on it.

Similarly, in 2002 a US fisherman cut through his arm after it became snagged in a winch while at sea. 

He cut off his arm at the elbow to save himself.

In both cases, the men were met by medical professionals not long after the traumatic event.

A lack of anatomical knowledge could result in the self-surgeon doing more harm to themselves than good, but given people who perform this type of surgery are often in life or death situations, it is sometimes worth the risk.

The main risks are damaging vital organs, severing blood vessels and infection – the human body is home to many species of bacteria, both internally and externally, many of which are opportunistic when injury or disease are inflicted on the body.



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