Tourniquets for surgery: safety aspects.

ABSTRACT

There are a variety of different types of pneumatic tourniquets in constant use within the UK Health Service. These range from simple manually operated units to more complex gas-powered devices. Fatalities have occurred following the failure of pneumatic tourniquets during surgery when the local anaesthetic agent administered to the patient entered the circulation. Investigation has revealed that certain tourniquet systems have design defects, for example deterioration of rubber tubing, inadequate securing of pressure tubing, excessive wear in a pressure regulator. With any tourniquet system, routine maintenance coupled with regular user checks are essential to ensure reliability.