ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) – A 17-year-old was walking home from Williamson County Park when he was bitten twice by a rattlesnake Friday night.
The victim was taken to the intensive care unit at Brackenridge Hospital where a fasciotomy was performed on his lower leg; he was then moved to intermediate care.
According to the surgeon at Brackenridge, the hospital staff has not seen a rattlesnake bite as severe as this one in several years, and has not performed a fasciotomy in more than five years.
Doctors think the snakebite came from a rattlesnake, based on the venom, the size of the bite and the location of the bite.
The youth was walking with friends on a dirt trail on his way back to Mayfield Ranch Subdivision around 9:30 p.m. when he was bitten, officials said. The trail is used by many in the neighborhood to access the park.
There have been reports of rattlesnake sightings in the area but no other bites have been reported.
People in the area are advised that rattlesnakes are out this time of year and that they are dangerous.