WELL LEG COMPARTMENT SYNDROME: THE DEBIT SIDE OF HEMILITHOTOMY POSITION
Abstract
We describe a case of well leg compartment syndrome following unilateral lithotomy position in apatient undergoing contralateral antegrade intramedullary femoral nailing. Following two-incision
four compartment fasciotomy, the patient recovered with no residual defects. We dissuade use of
the hemilithotomy position for antegrade femoral nailing procedures in favour of another
previously described position, because this predisposes patients to position-associated
complications without offering any substantial advantage.
Keywords: Compartment syndrome, well-leg, hemilithotomy
References
Carlson DA, Dobozi WR, Rabin S, Peroneal nerve palsy and
compartment syndrome in bilateral femoral fractures. Clin
Orthop Relat Res, 1995(320):115-8.
Mathews, PV, Perry JJ, Murray PC. Compartment syndrome
of the well leg as a result of the hemilithotomy position: a
report of two cases and review of literature. J Orthop
Trauma, 2001;15(8):580-3.
J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad 2009;21(1)
http://www.ayubmed.edu.pk/JAMC/PAST/21-1/Shahryar.pdf
Tan V, Pepe MD, Glaser DL, Seldes RM, Heppenstall
RB, Esterhai JL Jr. Well-leg compartment pressures during
hemilithotomy position for fracture fixation. J Orthop
Trauma, 2000;14(3):157-61.
Lydon, JC, Spielman FJ, Bilateral compartment syndrome
following prolonged surgery in the lithotomy position.
Anesthesiology, 1984;60(3):236-8.
Goldsmith AL, McCallum MI, Compartment syndrome as a
complication of the prolonged use of the Lloyd-Davies
position. Anaesthesia, 1996;51(11):1048-52.
Anglen J, Banovetz J, Compartment syndrome in the well leg
resulting from fracture-table positioning. Clin Orthop Relat
Res, 1994;(301):239-42.
Gordon BS, Newman W. Lower nephron syndrome
following prolonged knee-chest position. J Bone Joint Surg
Am, 1953;35-A(3):764-8.
Dugdale TW, Schutzer SF, Deasfenbaugh MK, Bartosh RA.
Compartment syndrome complicating use of the hemilithotomy position during femoral nailing. A report of two
cases. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 1989;71(10):1556-7.
Cascio BM, Buchowski JM, Frassica FJ, Well-limb
compartment syndrome after prolonged lateral decubitus
positioning. A report of two cases. J Bone Joint Surg Am,
;86-A(9):2038-40.
Pfeffer SD, Halliwill JR, Warner MA, Effects of lithotomy
position and external compression on lower leg muscle
compartment pressure. Anesthesiology, 2001;95(3):632-6.
Meyer RS, White KK, Smith JM, Groppo ER, Mubarak
SJ, Hargens AR. Intramuscular and blood pressures in legs
positioned in the hemilithotomy position: clarification of risk
factors for well-leg acute compartment syndrome. J Bone
Joint Surg Am, 2002;84-A(10):1829-35.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.
USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.