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A knife carried into an austere environment may have consid- in manuscript writing and revisions. JM and SM performed
erable wear and tear and may not be sharpened to the man- data collection and initial manuscript drafts. SB oversaw data
ufacturer’s specifications. Considering this, our results may collection, photography, and manuscript revisions.
or may not be extrapolated to real-life scenarios because the
knives were not sharpened between the nine amputations. Financial Disclosures
The authors have no financial disclosures.
Multiple individuals performed six to eight amputations, and
differences in their abilities and slight alterations in technique Funding
could account for differing success or failure rates. We did not No company or commercial interest supported or provided
study inter-amputator differences. funding or the equipment for the study. Furthermore, no com-
pany provided input to our research.
The amputators wore only medical gloves, not thicker gloves
made of synthetic material, leather, or cold weather gloves. References
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Author Contributions 17. Ho JD, Conterato MR, Mahoney BD, Miner JR, Benson JL. Suc-
RAB was responsible for the study design, oversight, data analy- cessful patient outcome after field extremity amputation and car-
sis, manuscript writing, and revisions. RW and NP participated diac arrest. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2003;7(1):149–153.
Knives and Multitools for Cadaveric Limb Amputation | 75

