The pneumatic tourniquet: mechanical, ischaemia-reperfusion and systemic effects

The pneumatic tourniquet is frequently used for upper and lower limb surgery to reduce bleeding, improve visualisation of important structures and expedite surgical procedures. Despite advances in technology, localised tissue damage secondary to cuff compression, ischaemia-reperfusion injuries and systemic complications still occur. The combination of these problems may affect outcome and contribute to prolonged hospitalisation. Use of the correct pneumatic tourniquet cuff size and a patient-specific cuff pressure with careful control of the duration of inflation may help reduce the incidence of these injuries. The efficacy of ischaemic preconditioning or postconditioning, and experimental treatments such as free radical scavenging, and use of nitric oxide synthetase inhibitors on endothelial dysfunction, systemic neutrophil activation and coagulation reactions needs to be established.