Compartment Syndrome of the Extremities

Compartment syndrome (CS) is a limb-threatening and potentially life-threatening condition. Long bone fractures and vascular injuries are the most frequent antecedent events. Burns, crush injury, bleeding in enclosed spaces, external compression of the limb, small thrombotic or embolic events, envenomation, allergy, intravenous infiltration, muscle overuse, nephritic syndrome, and intramuscular injection have all been implicated. Current knowledge unequivocally reflects that if you fail to identify and treat compartment syndrome properly, you will have a patient with tissue necrosis, permanent functional impairment, and potentially renal failure and death. CS has been found wherever a compartment is present: hand, forearm, upper arm, abdomen, buttock and the entire lower extremity. The leg (calf) is the area that is most commonly affected (65%), followed by the forearm (15%), and the thigh (5%). As a well-trained surgeon who wants to do the best for each patient, you must become intimately familiar with this topic and the techniques to treat it.