Nelson, The Earl Of Uxbridge, And Long John Silver.

[sandyRoe]

In the days before antiseptics what were the chances of someone surviving an amputation following a battle field wound?

[Tilly2]

Pretty slim, I'd say.

[Canary42]

I seem to remember reading 50/50 somewhere - may have been during guided tour of HMS Victory.

[Canary42]

hearing, not reading.

[Tilly2]

and or before antibiotics.....?

[Buenchico]

This refers to the 19th century but the figures for a century or two earlier might well have been similar as there weren't many (any?) major advances in surgery during the intervening period:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1281639/table/tbl3/

[sandyRoe]

There couldn't have been antibiotics during WW1. A slight wound might have killed some combatants

[Sqad]

\\http://www.sciencescribe.net/articles/Surgery_in_the_1700s.pdf\\

There you go sandy........speed of the surgeons,the development of the tourniquet, leaving the wounds open, debridement of dead tissue by maggots, it all amounted to a 50/50 chance of survival.
Survival rates are notoriously inaccurate when given by surgeons;-)

[Sqad]

http://www.sciencescribe.net/articles/Surgery_in_the_1700s.pdf

Try again.

[sandyRoe]

Nelson must have doubly lucky surviving two serious wounds.