ABSTRACT
Tourniquets are widely employed in orthopaedic practice to maintain a bloodless operative field during extremity surgery. In areas of the world where reliable pressurized air systems for tourniquet inflation are not available, and as an alternative to the traditional Esmarch bandage, we report on the successful and safe use of a novel hand-held, battery-operated limb tourniquet.
Subject(s)
Lower Extremity/surgery , Orthopedic Procedures/instrumentation , Tourniquets , Upper Extremity/surgery , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Air Pressure , Equipment Design , Humans , Lower Extremity/blood supply , Male , Middle Aged , Orthopedic Procedures/adverse effects , Upper Extremity/blood supplyABSTRACT
The Bedford Orthopaedic Centre is situated in Umtata at the heart of the former homeland of the Transkei in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It acts as an orthopaedic and trauma referral hospital for a mainly rural population approaching 4 million. This article focuses on the workload of the hospital over a 4-month period and like many hospitals in South Africa we highlight the difficulties it faces with the trauma epidemic.
