The Pneumatic Ankle Tourniquet with Ankle Block Anesthesia for Foot Surgery

The use of a pneumatic ankle tourniquet applied to the supramalleolar ankle region is a useful method of obtaining a bloodless field in surgery of the foot. The pneumatic ankle tourniquet allows for more accurate and reproducible control of circumferential compression than the standard Esmarch bandage, when used in conjunction with the regional ankle block. Between March 1987 and October 1990, 84 foot surgeries were performed using the pneumatic tourniquet and ankle block technique on 76 patients by one surgeon. Tourniquet ischemia lasted from 30 to 105 min. Tourniquet pressure was set to 100 to 150 mm of mercury above systolic blood pressure without exceeding 325 mm of mercury. Two patients reported mild pain directly beneath the tourniquet after 45 and 70 min, respectively. Neither patient required deflation of the tourniquet to complete the procedure. The clinical and electrophysiologic evidence showed that no neurologic or vascular damage occurs. The use of the pneumatic tourniquet in conjunction with regional ankle block anesthesia provides a reasonable alternative to the standard thigh tourniquet for surgery of the foot.