Man Who Was Stranded in Snow Has Portions of Feet Amputated

A man who was stranded for eight days in the snowy Nevada desert underwent surgery Saturday to remove part of his severely frostbitten feet.

The surgery on James Stolpa, 21, of Paso Robles, Calif., took about 8 1/2 hours at Washoe Medical Center. “He got out of surgery about 4 this afternoon and we hear that everything went very well,” a hospital spokeswoman said. Stolpa’s condition was not known.

Surgeons removed one-third of his right foot and one-quarter of his left foot in a procedure similar to that performed on his wife, Jennifer, on Monday. Dr. Louis Bonaldi said he knew of only three other cases in which the procedure was used for frostbite patients and all were successful. The outdoor ordeal left the Stolpas with almost identical injuries.

The surgery, usually performed on cancer or accident victims, leaves enough bone in both feet so that a patient should be able to walk without the use of prosthetic devices, Bonaldi said.

Bonaldi, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, teamed up with Drs. Charles Nielsen and Norman Young in the effort to preserve as much of James Stolpa’s feet as possible.

After the surgery, he’ll spend from 24 to 48 hours in the hospital’s intensive care unit for observation.

Surgeons said they are optimistic that his wife will be able to walk without prostheses.

The couple’s truck became stranded in deep snow in northwest Nevada on Dec. 29 when they tried to take a shortcut on a trip from Castro Valley to attend a funeral in Pocatello, Ida. Jennifer Stolpa huddled with their infant son in a cave while her husband trudged 60 miles through waist-deep snow for help. They were rescued Jan. 6.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Stolpa celebrated her 21st birthday Friday with her family in her hospital room.

The Stolpas had a birthday dinner of steak and lobster, and received cake and champagne from the hospital.