Chiefs fans among 12 frostbite amputations after frigid wild card game vs Dolphins, hospital confirms

A Missouri hospital confirmed Friday that individuals who attended the frigid Kansas City Chiefs-Miami Dolphins wild card round game in January had to undergo amputations due to frostbite. 

Research Medical Center in Kansas City said that 12 of those treated for frostbite during the cold snap two months ago, some of whom coming from the January 13 game at Arrowhead Stadium, needed amputations involving mostly fingers and toes. 

The hospital also said more surgeries are expected over the next two to four weeks. 

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NFL fans cheer in the stands before an NFL wild-card playoff football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 13, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

Research Medical Center didn’t give an exact number of frostbite victims during the 11-day cold snap, though Dr. Megan Garcia of the Grossman Burn Center at the hospital told FOX 4 that 70% of those patients are now being advised to schedule amputations.

"People think of burns, they think of fire, they think of hot thermal injuries," she said. "But burns can happen from many different causes.

CHIEFS FANS THAT SUFFERED FROSTBITE AT 4TH-COLDEST GAME IN NFL HISTORY NOW FACE POSSIBILITY OF AMPUTATION

"The patients who had their frostbite injuries along with the Chiefs game, they are just getting to the point now we are starting to discuss their amputations that might be necessary."

The temperature at kickoff for the Chiefs-Dolphins bout was minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit, while wind gusts had the game at minus-27 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the fourth-coldest game in NFL history. 

Fans cheer during the AFC Wild Card Playoffs between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 13, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

But Chiefs fans flood the stadium no matter the temperature, and some of them dared to defy the frigid air with many being seen with a lack of layers, or simply showing skin in the seats during the game. 

The coldest game ever recorded in NFL history came in the 1967 NFL championship, where the Green Bay Packers took down the Dallas Cowboys at a minus-13 Fahrenheit Lambeau Field. It’s been fittingly called the "Ice Bowl."

The Chiefs went on to win that game against the Dolphins this year, their first playoff victory on the road to back-to-back Super Bowl wins. Kansas City took down the Buffalo Bills in another freezing game in upstate New York before heading to Baltimore, where they beat the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game. 

A Kansas City Chiefs fan's glasses are fogged up on a cold night during an AFC Wild Card playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs on January 13, 2024, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Patrick Mahomes & Co. went to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, 25-22.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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