Composite Sterile Aneroid Sphygmomanometer And Rubber Bandage Tourniquet: Indications, Techniques and Results

Safety and ease of application are features of modern tourniquets such as the pneumatic tourniquet. The relatively high cost of purchase and maintenance has limited the availability of pneumatic tourniquets in most hospitals in developing countries where the rubber bandage tourniquet remains the only effective option available to orthopaedic surgeons. To improve on the safety profile of rubber tourniquets, we combined sterile rubber bandage and aneroid sphygmomanometer to provide a composite sterile tourniquet that could be applied and removed by the surgeon after scrubbing and draping the patient. Application of the tourniquet after preparation and draping of the patient's skin ensured that greater part of the tourniquet time was devoted to the actual procedure. This article presents the indications, techniques and results of using this composite sterile aneroid sphygmomanometer and rubber bandage tourniquet.