Tourniquets in orthopedic surgery

Tourniquets are commonly used in limb surgeries, be it orthopedic or plastic surgeries. But the inflation pressures, the duration, and release guidelines are still not clear. According to a survey, majority of orthopedic surgeons inflate the tourniquet to fixed pressures for the upper and the lower limbs without considering the baseline blood pressure of the patient on whom the tourniquets are being applied. This review was designed to recall and review the safe use of tourniquets and the various techniques that can be employed to minimize the complications of tourniquet use. Google, science direct, and pubmed were searched for appropriate literature and relevant articles were identified.     

The 100 most cited papers in foot and ankle surgery

BackgroundThe number of citations of a paper gives an indication of an article's merit and importance within a medical specialty. We identify and analyse the 100 most cited papers in foot and ankle surgery.MethodThe Science Citation Index Expanded was searched for citations in 15 respected journals containing foot and ankle articles. Papers were analysed for subject, authorship, institution, country and year of publication. The average yearly citation was compared to total number of citations.Results3501 foot and ankle papers were returned. The maximum number of citations was 1084 and the mean was 104. The top 100 papers were published between 1979 and 2007, with the majority published in the last decade. The ankle was the most important anatomical region discussed, and basic science and degenerative disease were popular topics. We found a large discrepancy between the total number of citations with average yearly citation.ConclusionFoot and ankle surgery is a young and rapidly developing sub-specialty within orthopaedics. Recently there has been a significant increase in influential papers published. Certain topics are popular indicating their importance within the field. This study highlights important papers in foot and ankle surgery giving an insight into readership.     

Survey of tourniquet use in podiatric surgery

Tourniquet use in foot and ankle surgery is common practice; however, the technique varies among foot and ankle surgeons and there are no standard guidelines. To analyze trends in foot and ankle tourniquet use, the authors conducted an e-mail survey. One thousand six hundred sixty-five foot and ankle surgeons were sent a tourniquet-use survey via e-mail, across Canada and the United States. Nineteen percent of the recipients completed and returned the surveys. Eleven (3.4%) rarely or never use a tourniquet and 8 (2.5%) use an Esmarch bandage tourniquet at the ankle. Most use pneumatic ankle cuffs (92% use, 27% use exclusively); many also use thigh cuffs (69%) and some also use calf cuffs (15%). Most thigh-cuff users (62%) experience problems with cuff fit sometimes or often. All but 3 respondents exsanguinate the limb before tourniquet inflation. Specific devices used for exsanguination varied among surgeons. Most commonly used tourniquet pressures range from /=351 mm Hg for the thigh (64% use pressures between 301 and 350 mm Hg). Only 7% of respondents consider limb occlusion pressure when selecting tourniquet cuff pressure. Based on published studies of limb occlusion pressures, these ranges suggest that some of the more common pressure settings may be higher than necessary for many patients. Vascular disease or previous bypass (91%) and deep vein thrombosis (83%) were the most commonly listed contraindications to tourniquet use. Approximately 10% of respondents have either experienced or learned of skin and nerve injuries secondary to lower extremity tourniquet use at any level. The varied responses show a lack of overall consensus on tourniquet pressure settings. Guidelines for optimizing cuff pressure and technique should be established to minimize the risk of complications.     

踝部止血带与大腿止血带在足部手术中的应用比较

[目的]评价踝部止血带和大腿止血带在足部手术中的效果和安全性.[方法]回顾性研究选取本院行踝部以下手术的病例(2010年5月～ 2012年12月)共44例,其中,踝部止血带组21例,大腿止血带组23例.观察踝部止血带组和大腿止血带组的手术视野,术中血压、心率波动,止血带休克的变化,术后神经损伤,皮肤水泡等指标,对二者的应用效果和安全性进行比较分析.[结果]在足部手术中,二者均能提供一个良好的无血的手术视野,但术中使用踝部止血带相较大腿止血带所引起的术中血压波动及心率变化、术后神经症状和皮肤水泡发生率更低(P＜0.05),止血带休克发生率差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).[结论]二者在足部手术中均能提供一个清晰地手术视野,但踝部止血带相比于大腿止血带在足部手术中具有更高的安全性.     

The impact of COVID-19 on foot and ankle surgery in a major trauma centre

Introduction and aimsCOVID-19 has had a significant impact on orthopaedic surgery globally. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on foot and ankle trauma in a major trauma centre.MethodsA retrospective observational study of prospectively collected data was performed. All foot and ankle trauma patients over a 33 week period (1st December 2019–16th July 2020) were analysed. All patients with trauma classified by the AO/OTA as occurring at locations 43 and 81–88 were included.ResultsOver the 33 weeks analysed, there was a total of 1661 trauma cases performed; of these, only 230 (13.85%) were foot and ankle trauma cases. As percentage of cases during each period of lockdown, foot and ankle made up 15.20% (147 out of 967) pre-lockdown, 8.81% (17 out of 193) during lockdown and 13.17% (66 out of 501) post lockdown. This difference was statistically significant (p < .001). The most significant change in trauma management was the treatment of malleolar fractures.Further analysis showed that during the lockdown period 29 foot and ankle fractures were treated the same and 13 were treated differently, (i.e. 31% of fractures were treated conservatively, when the consultants preferred practice would have been surgical intervention). Of the 13 patients, 3 have had surgical management since lockdown has been eased.ConclusionIt is evident that the trauma case activity within foot and ankle was significantly reduced during the COVID-19 period. The consequences of change in management were mitigated due to a reduction in case load.     

Vitamin D levels in 577 consecutive elective foot & ankle surgery patients

BackgroundVitamin D deficiency is a global concern impacting upon large communities and certain disease populations. It can adversely affect the outcome of orthopaedic operations. We aimed to perform an audit of the Vitamin D status of patients in two centres in the United Kingdom undergoing elective foot and ankle surgery.MethodsSerum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D (vitamin D) levels were obtained prospectively in 577 consecutive elective patients undergoing elective foot and ankle surgery between October 2014 and March 2017 (29 months). Variables including age, gender, ethnicity, location, season, month and procedure type were recorded.Results577 patients were included over the study period. 62.0% were female. Mean age was 53.2 (median 54.5, range 16.7–86.6). 300 patients were treated in Northampton and 277 in Leicester. The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels for the patient group were normally distributed. The mean was 52.3 nmol/L (SD 28.0; range 7.5–175) and the median 47.5 nmol/L. 21.7% were grossly deficient, 31.9% deficient, 28.9% insufficient and 17.5% within normal range. Age, gender and procedure type did not statistically affect vitamin D levels (p = 0.5, t-test). Ethnicity, location and Winter season did affect Vitamin D levels (p < 0.05). August was the most significant month with levels significantly higher than January, February, March, April, June, November and December (p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA).ConclusionsOnly 1 in 5.7 patients had a normal Vitamin D level and 1 in 4.6 were grossly deficient. Ethnicity and patient location significantly affected Vitamin D results. Summer months were noted to demonstrate significantly the highest levels and August the highest. We did not find that age or gender affected Vitamin D levels in our cohort.     

止血带的使用方式对膝关节置换术失血量和手术时间的影响

目的探讨不同止血带使用方式对全膝关节置换术中、术后失血量的影响及意义.方法 2006年5月至2009年4月行单侧全膝关节置换术的膝关节骨关节炎患者88例,排除凝血机制异常者,患者根据止血带使用方式不同分为手术开始时开始使用组和安装假体时开始使用组,手术开始时开始使用组46例,安装假体时开始使用组42例,其他操作两组相同,记录手术时间、止血带使用时间,记录术中失血量、术后引流量,计算总失血量和隐形失血量.用两独立样本t检验比较两组间的差异.结果 手术开始时开始使用组：手术时间75～140 min,平均95.9 min;止血带使用时间54～105 min,平均65.2 min.安装假体时开始使用组：手术时间85～150 min,平均98.2 min;止血带使用时间18～30 min,平均24.1 min.术中失血量：手术开始时开始使用组132～640 ml,平均251.8 ml;安装假体时开始使用组320～965 ml,平均570.5 ml,术中失血量有统计学意义（P＜0.01）.术后引流血量：手术开始时开始使用组560～1310 ml,平均630.3 ml;安装假体时开始使用组470～1 190 ml,平均576.9 ml,两组间比较有统计学意义（P＜0.05）.总失血量：手术开始时开始使用组平均1 371.7 ml,安装假体时开始使用组平均1 419.3 ml,两组比较总失血量无统计学意义（P＞0.05）.隐形失血量：手术开始时开始使用组574.7 ml,安装假体时开始使用组437.3 ml,隐形失血量比较有统计学意义（P＜0.05）.手术开始时开始使用组发生肌肉疼痛4例,神经麻痹1例,对照组未发生使用止血带发生的并发症.结论 手术开始时开始使用组可减少术中失血,提供良好的手术视野利于手术操作,但术后失血较多,尤其是隐形失血量较多,对总失血量无明显影响.止血带使用时机对手术时间无影响.     

Changes in end-tidal CO2 level following tourniquet deflation during orthopedic surgery

We studied the changes in end-tidal CO₂ (ET_{CO 2}) and systemic responses after tourniquet deflation in spontaneously breathing and ventilation-controlled patients during orthopedic surgery of both the upper and/or the lower extremities. In most patients, increases in ET_{CO 2}, heart rate, and Pa_{CO 2}, as well as decreases in blood pressure and pH were observed. In every spontaneously breathing patient, the respiratory rate began to increase before the ET_{CO 2} reached a maximum. Arterial blood gas analysis suggested that the increase in ET_{CO 2} closely reflected the increase in Pa_{CO 2}. Our study yielded new information on the ET_{CO 2} changes as follows: 1) the time for ET_{CO 2} level to reach a peak (peak time) was almost constant despite the considerable differences in the increases in ET_{CO 2} both in spontaneous breathing and ventilation-controlled groups and the peak time in the former group was shorter than that in the latter group; and 2) it was suggested that the increase in ET_{CO 2} in the spontaneously breathing patients was smaller than that in ventilation-controlled patients when both patients were subjected to the same conditions on tourniquet time and tourniqueted area. Our data showed that the increase in ET_{CO 2} (or Pa_{CO 2}) can be large and prolonged in some situations. Thus, we recommend continuous ET_{CO 2} monitoring and the proper hyperventilation at tourniquet deflation in order to minimize any adverse effects of acidosis.(Akata T, Tominaga M, Sagiyama M, et al.: Changes in end-tidal CO₂ level following tourniquet deflation during orthopedic surgery. J Anesth 6: 9–16, 1992)     

Survey of tourniquet use in orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery

BACKGROUND: Tourniquet technique varies among foot and ankle surgeons, and to establish a standard practice guideline the current standard of care should be examined. METHODS: One hundred and forty responses were received after 253 surveys were mailed to American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) members, concerning type of tourniquets, location, and pressures used. RESULTS: Cuff pressures most commonly used were 301 to 350 mmHg for thigh cuffs (49% of thigh cuff users) and 201 to 250 mmHG for calf and ankle cuffs (52% of calf cuff users, 66% of ankle cuff users). A substantial number of foot and ankle surgeons who use calf and ankle cuffs frequently use pressures above 250 mmHg (41% of calf cuff users, 19% of ankle cuff users). Only 9% use limb occlusion pressure when determining cuff pressure. CONCLUSION: Based on the existing evidence-based literature these pressures may be higher than necessary for many patients, and increased adoption of optimal pressure setting techniques as reported in the literature may help reduce tourniquet pressures used and risk of tourniquet injury. Respondents reported experiencing or hearing reports of breakthrough bleeding, nerve injury, and skin injuries under the cuff.     

Safe aftercare following foot ankle surgery: Doing less is more: The Jones dressing cast,part 2

Background

There is no universal approach to surgery aftercare among foot and ankle surgeons. Although infections following foot and ankle surgery are rare, soft tissue healing can be jeopardized after extensive and multiple approaches.

Elective foot and ankle surgery following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic is safe: A report of 30-day morbidity and mortality

IntroductionThe safety of resuming elective surgical services remains unclear following several surges of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Multiple studies have reported high rates of post-operative mortality and pulmonary complications. 30-day outcomes on an initial cohort of patients undergoing elective foot and ankle surgery at 3 central London hospitals are presented.Materials and methodsThis study is a retrospective review of the first 63 patients undergoing surgery following the first UK surge via a modified treatment pathway, based on published national guidelines, designed to minimise the risks to patients and staff associated with COVID-19.Results90% of patients were ASA 1 or 2, with an average age of 46. All tested negative for COVID-19 pre-operatively and all but one underwent a general anaesthetic. 10 patients required one night hospital stays and 1 was admitted for four nights. 52 were day case procedures. 2 complications were identified, not relating to COVID-19 infection. No 30-day mortalities or pulmonary complications were recorded.ConclusionsWith a community prevalence of COVID-19 of between 1 in 1500 and 1 in 1700, elective foot and ankle surgery was safe following the first surge of the pandemic in the UK. This data can guide elective service planning in countries with pandemic curves behind the UK’s or in the event of further surges in national cases.     

足踝手术后连续腓肠肌平面阻滞的镇痛效果

目的：探索连续腓肠肌平面阻滞镇痛用于足踝部手术患者术后镇痛效果。
方法：选择全麻下行足踝部择期手术患者42例,男19例,女23例,年龄18～64岁,BMI 18～28 kg/m²,ASAⅠ—Ⅲ级。将患者随机分为两组：连续腓肠肌平面阻滞镇痛组（CN组）和患者自控静脉镇痛（PCIA）组（I组）,每组21例。CN组术毕行连续腓肠肌平面阻滞镇痛,配方为0.125%罗哌卡因300 ml,背景剂量为3 ml/h,单次给药剂量为 8 ml,锁定时间为25 min。I组术毕使用羟考酮PCIA,配方为羟考酮30 mg、托烷司琼6 mg加生理盐水至150 ml,输注速度0.5 ml/h,单次追加剂量5 ml。观察两组术后0～16、16～24、24～48、0～48 h时段静息和活动时NRS评分曲线下面积（AUC）,1、8、16、24、32、48 h静息和活动时NRS评分,CN组术后胫神经和腓总神经运动功能恢复时间、羟考酮滴定量、术后48 h内补救镇痛药物的吗啡当量累计使用量、补救镇痛次数、补救镇痛率、首次下床活动时间、术后恶心呕吐的发生情况和患者满意度评分。
结果：与I组比较,CN组0～16、16～24、24～48、0～48 h静息和活动时NRS评分AUC明显降低（P<0.01）,术后1、8、16、24、32、48 h NRS评分明显降低（P<0.01）,CN组16 h有10例（50%）患者腓总神经运动功能恢复,24 h有17例（85%）患者腓总神经运动功能恢复,32～48 h所有患者腓总神经运动功能恢复,48 h内所有患者胫神经运动功能正常。与I组比较,CN组吗啡当量累计使用量和补救镇痛次数明显减少（P<0.01）,补救镇痛率明显降低（P<0.01）,患者满意度评分明显升高（P<0.01）。两组羟考酮滴定量、首次下床活动时间,恶心呕吐发生率差异无统计学意义。
结论：超声引导下连续腓肠肌平面阻滞可以实现胫神经运动和感觉阻滞分离,可在足踝手术后提供良好且持续的镇痛效果。     

超声引导下腓肠肌平面阻滞对足踝部手术患者术后镇痛的影响

目的 评价单次腓肠肌平面阻滞(GPB)用于择期全身麻醉下足踝部手术患者术后镇痛的有效性。方法 选择全身麻醉下足踝部手术患者60例,男34例,女26例,年龄18～64岁,BMI 18～28 kg/m²,ASAⅠ—Ⅲ级。将患者随机分为两组：GPB组和对照组,每组30例。GPB组术前进行GPB,于腓肠肌表面共注入0.375%罗哌卡因30 ml,对照组不予GPB。两组麻醉诱导和麻醉维持方法一致。术后均行无背景剂量羟考酮静脉镇痛。记录术后4、8、12、16、24、48 h静息和活动(足踝部背曲与跖曲)时NRS评分,术后0～16、16～24、24～48、0～48 h疼痛-时间曲线下面积(AUC),术中瑞芬太尼的用量,术后48 h内地佐辛补救情况,术后0、4、8、12、16、24、48 h的羟考酮滴定量,术后48 h有效按压次数、总按压次数和首次按压时间,术后住院时间、首次下床活动时间,以及头晕、发热、恶心呕吐、皮肤瘙痒和神经并发症等不良反应发生情况。结果 与对照组比较,GPB组术后4、8、12、16 h静息和活动时NRS评分明显降低(P<0.01),静息时和活动时0～1...     

Advances in intramedullary nail fixation in foot and ankle surgery

Tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis for the treatment of complex foot and ankle deformities are extremely challenging cases. Technological advances in intramedullary nail fixation have improved the biomechanical properties of available fixation constructs in recent years. Nails designed specifically to accommodate hindfoot anatomy, advancement in the understanding of optimal screw orientation, fixed angle technology, the availability of spiral blade screws, and features designed to achieve compression across the arthrodesis site have provided the foot and ankle surgeon with a greater armamentarium for performing tibiotalocalneal arthrodesis. Although advances may help to improve clinical results, small sample sizes and the low-level evidence of study designs limit the evaluation of how these advances affect clinical outcomes.     

The influence of smoking on foot and ankle surgery: a review of the literature

The effect of tobacco smoking on foot and ankle procedures is likely to be more pronounced when compared to other orthopaedic surgery. This is due to the peripheral nature of the vasculature involved. This paper reviews the current clinical evidence on the effects of smoking foot and ankle surgery. In the trauma setting, the evidence suggests that wound complications and non-unions are significantly higher in the smoking population. In the elective setting there is a significantly increased risk of non-union in ankle and hindfoot arthrodeses in smokers. In the setting of diabetes, ulceration rate in smokers is higher and there may be a higher risk of amputation.