eli5 why were pre-anesthesia amputations not done with quillotine like devices to make it as fast as possible?

Question

eli5 why were pre-anesthesia amputations not done with quillotine like devices to make it as fast as possible?

In: 9

Answer 1

Who says they weren’t?! Often done with a sword. Then cauterized.

“He was a great believer in early and fast amputation to save patient’s lives and in the Battle of Borodino he reportedly performed 200 amputations in 24 hours.”

[Dominique Jean Larrey – Surgeon in Chief of Napoleon’s Armies](https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/dominique-jean-larrey-surgeon-in-chief-of-napoleons-armies/)