Major deployment-related amputations of lower and upper limbs, active and reserve components, U.S. Armed Forces, 2001-2017.

Abstract

Major amputations of the lower and upper limbs are among the most life-altering and debilitating combat injuries. From 1 January 2001 through 31 October 2017, a total of 1,705 service members sustained major deployment-related lower and upper limb amputations. Lower limb amputations were far more common than upper limb amputations, with a total of 1,914 lower limb amputations, compared to 302 upper limb amputations. The greatest single-year number of amputations occurred in 2011, with a reported total of 273 service members who sustained 403 major limb amputations. The injured cohort mostly comprised non-Hispanic white male service members aged 21-29 years. Furthermore, the majority of the injured cohort included active component, mid-level or junior enlisted members of the Army or Marine Corps in combat-specific occupations. These findings reiterate and extend previous reports of the annual numbers, types, and anatomic locations of deployment-related limb amputations, along with the demographics and military characteristics of the injured cohort from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.