What are the chances of survival with a slashed radial artery?

Question

Assuming no medical attention is received. i.e., would it be likely to clot on its own eventually, before blood loss lead to death? My research indicates that the extent of the wound is important -- perhaps that a partially cut artery leads to a higher chance of death than one which is fully severed, due to the nature of the repair mechanisms.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Well, applying sufficient pressure on the wound with your hand and a sterile gauze (or if you can't get a gauze, at least any cloth at hand) really does cause clotting.

I once help attend a guy who got stabbed in his liver (god only know how it happened) and putting pressure with a gauze did stop the bleeding and it's the bloody liver we're talking about that bleeds like crazy.

With no treatment and the wound is big enough, the person could die, can't say how quickly it would happen, the radial artery isn't exactly that wide.

Answer 2

Writing something, are you?  ;-)  This sounds like a storyline question.

There are a lot of variables, including, as you say, the extent of the wound, the length of the wound, the overall health of the victim, any other injuries that are also received.  It's hard to put a number on "chances of survival."  They'd be better than if the femoral or carotid artery were slashed, for example.  Even minimal medical attention, like simple pressure on the wound, would help.

Eventually the choices would be clotting or death.  You are also correct that if an artery is completely severed, it tends to retract into the muscles that surround it, which also helps with pressure and clotting.  Of course, then you'd have the little problem down the line of supplying the area that artery served--there are anastomoses (crossovers between the other arteries) but it still wouldn't be too good for the hand.