70% of Chiefs-Dolphins fans who got frostbite at playoff game now facing amputation

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The damage is still being felt months after the game.

The brutal January 13 playoff game between the Chiefs and Dolphins at Arrowhead will be remembered forever. The -4 weather, combined with a -27 degree wind chill made it one of the coldest NFL games of all time, and now two months after the game some fans are still feeling the effects — and could for the rest of their lives.

FOX4 in Kansas City reports that a staggering 70 percent of people who had to seek medical assistance for frostbite due to the game are now facing the reality of amputation. This includes one fan who removed his gloves for five minutes to put up a tent in the parking lot, and is now in the process of discussing whether or not his fingers need to be amputated.

Fans who were effected by the cold are now reporting to the Grossman Burn Center in Kansas City as part of their recovery. Some have been lucky to regain feeling in their extremities following the game after numerous treatments in hyperbaric oxygen chambers, while more is being done to educate the public about the dangers of frostbite.

The mechanisms for frostbite all share the underlying related factor of spending prolonged time in the cold without adequate covering. Freezing of the skin and other tissues occurs as a result. Similar to standard thermal burns, there is a four-degree scale to frostbite as well — with fourth-degree frostbit occurring when the muscles are damaged by freezing. This often results in amputation, as recovery of the affected area is impossible.

Dr. Megan Garcia, Grossman Burn Center Medical Director, told FOX4 that even those lucky to escape amputation could face symptoms for the rest of their lives.

“It’s still a lifelong process. They’ll have sensitivity and pain for the rest of their lives and always will be more susceptible to frostbite in the future. So we are also educating them to make sure they stay warm for the years and months to come,” Garcia said.

Perhaps next time the NFL will rethink having a game outside in these conditions.