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Like many Albertans at this time of year, Louis Francescutti is thinking about the weather.
But not because of its impact on him.
“The snow fell last night, so temperatures are well below zero,” said the Edmonton emergency physician.
“As we speak, there are probably men and women out there developing frostbite right now. And so my colleagues probably later today or tomorrow will start treating this year’s round of frostbites.”
Some of those frostbite injuries will eventually lead to amputations — particularly if the person lacks housing and gets frostbite again on the same tissue, he said.
“About two to three weeks ago, I saw two patients that had infected amputation sites from last year’s frostbite,” said Francescutti.
“In other words, we are still dealing with frostbite from a year ago. And now these men and women are still homeless and chances are they’re going to reinjure themselves again.”
More amputations, more unhoused patients
Frostbite amputations have increased in Edmonton for the second straight year, according to Alberta Health Services data obtained by CBC News.
Edmonton had 113 amputations performed with a diagnosis of frostbite last winter — more than five times the number recorded in fiscal 2019.
More than half of those procedures were performed on patients recorded as experiencing homelessness.
