Doctors fear the death toll might rise further after the attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where a gunman killed 49 and left dozens injured in the worst US terrorist attack since September 11, 2001.
Some 27 patients remain in the Orlando Regional Medical Centre following the attack on Sunday, with six in the intensive care unit, Doctor Mike Cheatham said at a press conference on Tuesday detailing the chaotic scene at the hospital after a gunman opened fire in the gay nightclub.
The patients were "steadily improving", Cheatham said, but noted that doctors were continuing to operate on some and more could succumb to their injuries.
A team of trauma surgeons described patients arriving in "truckloads" and quickly assessing patients as they called in additional doctors.
At one point, the team ran out of operating supplies amid the high volume of patients.
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The gunman appeared to have been self-radicalised from Islamist material online, US officials have said.
