RESUMEN
Most surgeons believe that incorporation of a pneumatic thigh tourniquet requires concomitant use of general anesthesia to prevent the patient from experiencing intolerable discomfort. These authors explored use of pneumatic thigh tourniquets in combination with local standby sedation by conducting a two-part study. A group of nonsedated student volunteers was first studied, after applying pneumatic thigh tourniquets. They expressed an average time to pain tolerance of 31.5 min. This was followed by a study of sedated patients in the operating room, where the average time to pain tolerance was 45.3 min. The manuscript further characterized the thigh tourniquet pain experience. Guidelines are discussed to maximize the patient's pain tolerance, while maintaining effective hemostasis throughout the surgical procedure.
