I want to give a character of mine a wound infection on his leg. Something severe enough to raise the stakes, but not lethal. Something that would be interesting to write about. The setting is very much pre-modern in terms of medicine.
I want to give a character of mine a wound infection on his leg. Something severe enough to raise the stakes, but not lethal. Something that would be interesting to write about. The setting is very much pre-modern in terms of medicine.
It’s not really an infection, but compartment syndrome is something that can happen in legs after an injury. Basically internal swelling of the muscles which starts to damage tissue once the pressure gets too high. It causes severe pain, and in some cases can eventually require amputation if left untreated.
The treatment is… brutal. It’s called a fasciotomy and fits well with the setting of pre-modern medicine as it hasn’t really changed much since the 1800’s. Basically, a doctor makes a long, deep cut, almost down your entire leg, until your leg is basically filleted open. Sometimes, multiple of these cuts are needed all around the leg. The cuts must be kept open until pressure is relieved, which can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, at which point they are stuctured up. I would recommend avoiding pictures if you are squeamish.