Comparison of different tourniquet release times in bunion surgery
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of Post-operative Swelling and Functional Outcomes in Relation to Pneumatic Tourniquet Use Pattern in Bunion Surgery
IRAS ID
205498
Contact name
Kalpesh Shah
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Golden Jubilee Foundation
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 0 days
Research summary
Bunion surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures in foot surgery. With regards to recovery after surgery, patients are advised to expect to be off work for between 6-8 weeks for a sedentary occupation, and between 12-14 weeks for heavy work. Although patients have low pain levels, their foot remains swollen for an average of 3-6 months after surgery. Swelling after any surgery is common, but particularly so after foot surgery as gravity causes fluid to collect in the foot. It is usually the swelling that prevents patients from getting in to normal footwear to be able to return to work sooner.
Bunion surgery is usually performed under a calf-tourniquet to create a bloodless surgical field and ensure less surgical bleeding, thereby reducing surgical time, which is released after closing the surgical wound. This, however, can also create the disadvantage of causing more swelling as all bleeding from the surgery itself is contained inside the soft-tissue envelope. This may affect recovery due to increased pain and swelling after bunion surgery.
This study intends to compare bunion surgery with tourniquet release after and 5 minutes before wound closure. It is expected that patients who have surgery that is released 5 minutes before wound closure will have less swelling and better functional and clinical outcomes compared to those in whom the tourniquet is released after wound closure (which is the current practice under the PI).REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
18/SS/0049
Date of REC Opinion
31 May 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion