Boston Marathon explosions: 'we're seeing a lot of shrapnel injuries', says trauma surgeon

Dr Peter Fagenholz, a trauma surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital, describes some of the injuries sustained by victims in the explosions.

7:22AM BST 16 Apr 2013

Dr Peter Fagenholz, a trauma surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital, said the hospital was treating 29 patients, eight of whom were in a critical condition.

He said many of the wounds were caused by shrapnel-like objects and that "several" amputations had been performed.

"It's just depressing that it's intentional," he said. "I can't say I've ever seen this volume of patients come this quickly with this type of injury."

Dr Fagenholz, who had performed six operations on victims of the explosions so far, said many of the injuries were to the lower limbs but he could not confirm if they were caused by ball bearings, which would give a clue as to the nature of the bombs.

"We're seeing a lot of shrapnel injuries, many of those involve predominently the lower extremities. Shrapnel injuries can affect the entire body." ---------------------- The Telegraph