Ghandour S, Jain VK, Gupta A. Choosing ankle tourniquets in foot and ankle surgery: Beyond postoperative pain considerations. World J Orthop 2024; 15(9): 828-830 [PMID: 39318490 DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v15.i9.828]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ashim Gupta, MS, PhD, MBA, DABRM, FABRM, Founder and CEO, President, Professor, Department of Orthopaedics and Regenerative Medicine, Future Biologics, 2505 Newpoint Pkwy, Lawrenceville, GA 30043, United States. ashim6786@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. Sep 18, 2024; 15(9): 828-830 Published online Sep 18, 2024. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v15.i9.828
Choosing ankle tourniquets in foot and ankle surgery: Beyond postoperative pain considerations
Samir Ghandour, Vijay Kumar Jain, Ashim Gupta
Samir Ghandour, The Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Balamand, Beirut 1100, Lebanon
Vijay Kumar Jain, Department of Orthopaedics, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, Delhi 110001, India
Ashim Gupta, Department of Orthopaedics and Regenerative Medicine, Future Biologics, Lawrenceville, GA 30043, United States
Author contributions: Gupta A conceptualized the study; Ghandour S wrote the initial draft; Jain VK and Gupta A critically reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the article for publication.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ashim Gupta, MS, PhD, MBA, DABRM, FABRM, Founder and CEO, President, Professor, Department of Orthopaedics and Regenerative Medicine, Future Biologics, 2505 Newpoint Pkwy, Lawrenceville, GA 30043, United States. ashim6786@gmail.com
Received: February 21, 2024 Revised: August 7, 2024 Accepted: August 9, 2024 Published online: September 18, 2024 Processing time: 204 Days and 5.5 Hours
Abstract
This editorial critically explores the use of ankle vs thigh tourniquets in foot and ankle surgery based on a recent study that found no significant difference in postoperative pain between the two placement techniques. Despite these findings, we argue for the preferential use of ankle tourniquets, highlighting their potential benefits in reducing venous blood stasis and minimizing soft tissue injury. This approach underscores the importance of considering long-term patient outcomes and vascular health beyond immediate postoperative pain. By integrating study findings with broader clinical considerations, we hereby advocate for a nuanced approach to tourniquet use that prioritizes patient safety and long-term recovery in conjunction with immediate postoperative pain.
Core Tip: This editorial advocates for the selection of ankle tourniquets in foot and ankle surgery. While ankle tourniquets do not significantly reduce postoperative pain compared to thigh tourniquets, ankle tourniquets may minimize lower extremity venous stasis and soft tissue compression, especially in high-risk patients, which can enhance long-term vascular health and promote uneventful patient recovery.
