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Case Series
Well leg compartment syndrome after orthopedic surgery in hemilithotomy position: A case series
1 MD, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal
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Raquel Teixeira
Estrada do Forte do Alto do Duque, Lisbon,
Portugal
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Article ID: 100020O03RT2021
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How to cite this article
Teixeira R, Ribeiro H, Fernandes P, Caetano AC. Well leg compartment syndrome after orthopedic surgery in hemilithotomy position: A case series. Edorium J Orthop 2021;7:100020O03RT2021.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Well leg compartment syndrome is a rare complication that occurs in the uninjured limb related to prolonged surgical procedures in lithotomy or hemilithotomy position. There are only 20 cases reported associated with orthopedic surgery.
Case Series: We report the two cases of young male patients who underwent orthopedic surgery and were positioned who underwent orthopedic surgery and were positioned in hemilithotomy position. The surgical time was longer than expected in both surgeries, surpassing 4 hours. 6 and 12 hours post-surgery, patients complained of unwarranted pain and paresthesia on the uninjured leg. Due to high suspicion of well leg compartment syndrome, intracompartment pressures were measured and found to be elevated. Although emergent fasciotomy was performed in both cases, one patient suffered permanent neurological deficit, while the other made a complete recovery.
Conclusion: This complication, although infrequent in orthopedic surgery, can occur in even short surgical procedures. Orthopedic team awareness can lead to prevention or timely treatment, improving the chances for total recovery.
Keywords: Compartment syndrome, Postoperative complications, Trauma
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions
Raquel Teixeira - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Hugo Ribeiro - Analysis of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Pedro Fernandes - Interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Afonso Cevadinha Caetano - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2021 Raquel Teixeira et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
