This is why you don't want to get bitten by a rattlesnake.

These images are after only one and a half days after the bite,
they are extremely graphic but have a look anyway

Oh wow, the finishing touches are extremely well. Wasn't as graphic as I pictured though!

Still I can only imagine the hospital bills..........

wow..That is amazing..The one thing that concerns me in the woods in my area is the rattle snake..beit far and few between in the east it still had me take actions to be aware of them wile jaunting in thigh high brush..

reply to post by Republican08


that is why you gotta love the NHS

freeee baby!!!

Nice picture wonder what happened to the snake? lol

Are you sure it was a snake?

It doesn't even look like an arm anymore

reply to post by Chovy


i think that was all the poison and rotting of his flesh that they had to remove his skin

tad grim but better than being chomped on by a polar bear

Owch!

What was the time period between the bite and the start of anti venom treatment.

It looks like there was a delay in starting treatment allowing massive swelling
and causing loss of blood flow.
This forced the doctors to do major decompression surgery to restore blood flow.(splitting the skin down the arm to relieve pressure)

Also what sub species of rattlesnake.
Here in Calif we have two sub species that are more toxic then your normal western diamondback

One is the Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus - Northern Mohave Rattlesnake.
www.californiaherps.com...

The other is Crotalus mitchellii stephensi - Panamint rattlesnake.
en.wikipedia.org...

Both of these have a neuro toxin element along with a hemotoxin in there venom.
C. scutulatus is widely regarded as producing one of the most toxic snake venoms in the New World,

C. mitchellii are less toxic as the levels of the neurotoxin component are very low.

I use to catch rattlers for a anti venom and research program.

[edit on 9-6-2009 by ANNED]

reply to post by bl4ke360

Wow
I just can't believe a rattler could do like so much damage--you're arm don't even look real ??
It's a warning to me cos I go over to the states quite often and up to seeing your pics, have never worried about snakes or spiders and stuff!!
Maybe that was a good thing in a way--being naive and oblivious to all the dangers.
Cos now after seeing this I'm gonna be a paranoid, nervous wreck

FUBAR.

That's the worst snake bite damage I've ever seen short of amputation or death. Thanks for sharing I think.

Peace

Is that for real? I had no idea a rattler could do that much dammage. Thats like ten brown reclues bites or more.

It looks as if that person did not receive treatment for quite a while.

www.rattlesnakebite.org...

On July 21, 2002, just after my 13th birthday, I was bitten by a Northern Pacific rattlesnake (the snake was originally identified as a Western Diamondback rattlesnake, but that species is not found near Yosemite). I was located on a trail in a hiking area near Yosemite National Park, California. The bite occurred when I was sitting on a small boulder at a distance of 4.5 miles from the trailhead with my cabin group at camp. I had my arms dangling at my side, and a 5 foot long rattlesnake bit me in the middle of my left palm.

From this point, an amazing rescue took place, taking 4 hours to transport me the 4.5 miles to the trailhead. The camp director had previously called the hospital, and a helicopter was waiting at the trailhead. During the 30 minute helicopter ride I was going in and out of consciousness, having trouble keeping my eyes open. We arrived at the Modesto, CA hospital, where the doctor in the emergency room decided that my case was too severe to treat at that medical center. He told me this, which was the last thing I heard before going unconscious.

Although I was unconscious for approximately the next 24 hours, I have heard about the following events from my parents.

That's damage occurring over a long time. The boy is lucky to be alive at that point.

He had to have atleast some kind of allergy to the hematoxin. I've never seen a bite do that to an entire arm. Of course it was also several hours before he got any real medical attention. That'd be a death sentence if the snake was neurotoxic.

Holy Christ on a Cracker!!!

Mental Note: if bitten by a rattler, get treatment quick!!!

That is amazing what they did in the end. WOW!

Also it seems some on here didnt really look at the pics or read them. The first pic is from surgery after they cut it open to release the pressure. He states in his story that they did some procedure to relive pressure. I have seen a snake bite one someone the next day in the hospital and it wasnt pretty. Their leg was completely swollen and nasty. The pictures descriptions are there just read them. The end result of the surgeries is amazing. Good thing for ins. He stated on the site it was paid for by ins.

wowa thats nasty, live in CA, and go to clearlake, luckly iv never seen one