Lower limb immobilisation with full casts is commonly used to manage fractures. There may be the need to split casts in an emergency, such as compartment syndrome, with no current consensus as to which technique is most effective in reducing pressure quickly. Our study aims to compare the reduction in pressure across lower leg compartments using three different cast splitting techniques. This study was done on a volunteer doctor. Pressure sensors were positioned at the anterior, posterior and lateral compartments. A single plaster technician applied below knee full casts with sequential layering and were allowed to dry as per manufacture instructions. Cast were split utilising three splitting methods; bivalve, tramline and single split and measurements taken when each layer was split. We compared results of ten repetitions for each splitting technique.Introduction
Methods
When using radiation intraoperatively, a surgeon should aim to maintain the dose as low as reasonably achievable to obtain the diagnostic or therapeutic goal. The UK Health Protection Agency reported mean radiation dose-area-product (DAP) of 4 Gy cm2 for hip procedures. We aimed to investigate factors associated with increased radiation exposure in fixation of proximal femur fractures. We assessed 369 neck of femur fractures between April 2019 and April 2020 in one district general hospital. Fractures were classified as extracapsular or intracapsular and into subtypes as per AO classification. Data was collected on type of fractures, implants used, level of surgeon, duration of surgery and DAP. Types of fractures were subclassified as complex (multifragmentary, subtrochanteric and reverse oblique) or simple.Introduction and Objective
Materials and Methods
