Knee Tourniquet
Apr,23,2008 22:03 Filed in: Knee
Replacement | Knee
When a
patient undergoes a knee replacement surgeons almost
always use a tourniquet around the thigh to cut down
on blood loss and make it easier to see during the
surgery. The tourniquet is inflated to a
pressure of 250 to 350 mmHG, which cuts off all blood
flow to the leg and foot. As you can imagine, this
puts tremendous pressure on the thigh muscles.
I've long suspected that a lot of the pain and
swelling after surgery is related to the use of a
tourniquet. So, over the last year, we have been
conducting a formal study of patients who undergo
knee replacement without a
tourniquet.
What I have found is that when a tourniquet is not used, patients have less pain, less blood loss, better range of motion and less swelling. The really dramatic difference is when patients return to the office, six weeks after the surgery, they are much more comfortable and much less swollen. It is now our standard form of treatment for both primary and revision surgery due to it's success.
There have been many studies published by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery that agree with these findings and I think a lot of surgeons haven't changed just because they are comfortable with the tourniquet. I plan to publish the findings formally fairly soon.
****Just to clarify, a tourniquet is placed on all knee replacement patients, it is just not inflated when there is adequate blood control.
What I have found is that when a tourniquet is not used, patients have less pain, less blood loss, better range of motion and less swelling. The really dramatic difference is when patients return to the office, six weeks after the surgery, they are much more comfortable and much less swollen. It is now our standard form of treatment for both primary and revision surgery due to it's success.
There have been many studies published by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery that agree with these findings and I think a lot of surgeons haven't changed just because they are comfortable with the tourniquet. I plan to publish the findings formally fairly soon.
****Just to clarify, a tourniquet is placed on all knee replacement patients, it is just not inflated when there is adequate blood control.
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