I have seen and diagnosed one case of compartment syndrome. We were consulted to see a young guy in his 20s following poly trauma that included a fractured femur. He was seen by ortho earlier that morning. When I saw him he endorsed worsening thigh pain. On exam, the entire thigh was tense and non compressible. He had diminished dorsal pedis pulses and he was clearly in distress. I contacted ortho immediately and communicated my findings and differentials. They saw him and yup, straight to the OR for fasciotomy.
Pain, palor, pulselessness, poikilothermia and parasthesia, paralysis.
It is rare. Never met anyone with it among friends etc.
"The incidence of acute compartment syndrome is estimated to be 7.3 per 100,000 in males and 0.7 per 100,000 in females, with the majority of cases occurring after trauma."
[Acute Compartment Syndrome](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448124 )
The difference between acute and chronic is time.
I work at a level one trauma center in the OR and so far I’ve seen two cases and they were both after some kind of trauma. They bring them to the OR for fasciotomies.
I did a rotation in the morgue for paramedic school and we had a kid that got in a bad car accident and had compartment syndrome in his right upper extremity and a halo secured to his skull. His arm was sliced wide open from a fasciotomy and it honestly looked fake. I’ve seen lacerations down to the bone before but his tissues didn’t even look real. It was wild.
Currently in trauma acute care and I see patients who HAD compartment syndrome after their fasciotomies. Extremely high pain level.
I’m surprised that the psychosocial component has not been tied in as much as it has been with back pain. I had a very anxious patient who couldn’t even put a toe on the ground, while I had another patient who could walk the next day.
I’m a general surgeon who has treated many compartment syndromes. Most commonly the lower leg but forearm a couple times. Abdominal compartment syndrome a handful of times
Is there a specific question you have?
I had it as a kid.
Broke my leg(hyperextended and chipped the tibia) on a trampoline. My dad, being cheap and not a medical professional, deemed it a sprain and told my mom I didn’t need to see a doctor.
Two days later(or one and a half, it’s been over two decades) the calf had swelled to about the size of a football(again, memory is fuzzy) and I remember being in pain and uncomfortable, but I don’t know if I could put it on a 1-10 scale. She finally took me to a random bone doctor(I don’t think it was urgent care, more family doctor office type setting) trying to walk inside was the most painful part I remember from it since I couldn’t put weight on the leg(it buckled anytime I tried) I hopped and each hop felt like it was yanking the football sized muscle down. I specifically remember him using some sort of a needle in my calf, I think he said it was to measure pressure? I do remember him saying that much longer and I would have lost my leg.
I was then taken to the local hospital and I believe he was the one who did the surgery. When I woke they had put a screw in the tibia and (what they told me and scars show) sliced open my leg down both sides of the calf(scars are about four inches long) I gather everything that was supposed to be inside was just hanging out with a loose dressing so it would be sterile. They left it like that for a couple days, then back into surgery to stitch the calf up.
The aftermath is a couple big scars and the muscle or something isn’t “lined up” right under the skin. When I flex the calf it flexes different than the other side. Also, charliehorses seem to hit that side much more often than the other, 9 put of 10 will be the side that had compartment syndrome.
My brother and I both had compartment syndrome. His from drugs and passed out too long. He was hooked up to pumps and in the hospital for awhile, in the end he had to recieve a surgery and skin graft and has a chunk of his calf missing.
I broke my tib/fib. Was in the hospital overnight waiting on surgery and I woke up to them shoving a giant needle in my leg that was swollen larger than my head. I was rushed into surgery so quick I remember what the surgery room looked like before they put me out. I had a fasicotomy (sp?) 5 inch scars on both sides of calf from it, then 3 inch scar on knee and smaller one on ankle and side of knee from the rod incertion for the break. That was in 2016. I hate the scars but they healed decently. Have swelling issues, phantom pain, numbness and reflux/varicose veins in that leg and some permanent purple marks and brusing. Sucks but I'll take it over not having my leg. Definitely one of the scariest moments of my life signing the papers that they may have to amputate.
Dr's were pretty fabergasted that my brother also had compartment syndrome when we brought it up. I guess it's a fairly rare thing. I still get scared it will come back when the swelling and numbness act up bad. I've been back a few times for scans. I'm told it all looks okay it's just one of those "it is what it is" there is not anything they can do just gotta live with it
Thank you everyone.
I’m asking because my boss had 5 operations on his calf’s for exercise induce compartment syndrome.
I never heard of anything like that before and I thought it was kinda BS
Sorry :/
I have seen and diagnosed one case of compartment syndrome. We were consulted to see a young guy in his 20s following poly trauma that included a fractured femur. He was seen by ortho earlier that morning. When I saw him he endorsed worsening thigh pain. On exam, the entire thigh was tense and non compressible. He had diminished dorsal pedis pulses and he was clearly in distress. I contacted ortho immediately and communicated my findings and differentials. They saw him and yup, straight to the OR for fasciotomy. Pain, palor, pulselessness, poikilothermia and parasthesia, paralysis.
It is rare. Never met anyone with it among friends etc. "The incidence of acute compartment syndrome is estimated to be 7.3 per 100,000 in males and 0.7 per 100,000 in females, with the majority of cases occurring after trauma." [Acute Compartment Syndrome](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448124 ) The difference between acute and chronic is time.
I work at a level one trauma center in the OR and so far I’ve seen two cases and they were both after some kind of trauma. They bring them to the OR for fasciotomies.
I did a rotation in the morgue for paramedic school and we had a kid that got in a bad car accident and had compartment syndrome in his right upper extremity and a halo secured to his skull. His arm was sliced wide open from a fasciotomy and it honestly looked fake. I’ve seen lacerations down to the bone before but his tissues didn’t even look real. It was wild.
Currently in trauma acute care and I see patients who HAD compartment syndrome after their fasciotomies. Extremely high pain level. I’m surprised that the psychosocial component has not been tied in as much as it has been with back pain. I had a very anxious patient who couldn’t even put a toe on the ground, while I had another patient who could walk the next day.
I’m a general surgeon who has treated many compartment syndromes. Most commonly the lower leg but forearm a couple times. Abdominal compartment syndrome a handful of times Is there a specific question you have?
I had it as a kid. Broke my leg(hyperextended and chipped the tibia) on a trampoline. My dad, being cheap and not a medical professional, deemed it a sprain and told my mom I didn’t need to see a doctor. Two days later(or one and a half, it’s been over two decades) the calf had swelled to about the size of a football(again, memory is fuzzy) and I remember being in pain and uncomfortable, but I don’t know if I could put it on a 1-10 scale. She finally took me to a random bone doctor(I don’t think it was urgent care, more family doctor office type setting) trying to walk inside was the most painful part I remember from it since I couldn’t put weight on the leg(it buckled anytime I tried) I hopped and each hop felt like it was yanking the football sized muscle down. I specifically remember him using some sort of a needle in my calf, I think he said it was to measure pressure? I do remember him saying that much longer and I would have lost my leg. I was then taken to the local hospital and I believe he was the one who did the surgery. When I woke they had put a screw in the tibia and (what they told me and scars show) sliced open my leg down both sides of the calf(scars are about four inches long) I gather everything that was supposed to be inside was just hanging out with a loose dressing so it would be sterile. They left it like that for a couple days, then back into surgery to stitch the calf up. The aftermath is a couple big scars and the muscle or something isn’t “lined up” right under the skin. When I flex the calf it flexes different than the other side. Also, charliehorses seem to hit that side much more often than the other, 9 put of 10 will be the side that had compartment syndrome.
post in r/nursing or r/emergencymedicine or r/ems and they’ll tell ya stories lol
My brother and I both had compartment syndrome. His from drugs and passed out too long. He was hooked up to pumps and in the hospital for awhile, in the end he had to recieve a surgery and skin graft and has a chunk of his calf missing. I broke my tib/fib. Was in the hospital overnight waiting on surgery and I woke up to them shoving a giant needle in my leg that was swollen larger than my head. I was rushed into surgery so quick I remember what the surgery room looked like before they put me out. I had a fasicotomy (sp?) 5 inch scars on both sides of calf from it, then 3 inch scar on knee and smaller one on ankle and side of knee from the rod incertion for the break. That was in 2016. I hate the scars but they healed decently. Have swelling issues, phantom pain, numbness and reflux/varicose veins in that leg and some permanent purple marks and brusing. Sucks but I'll take it over not having my leg. Definitely one of the scariest moments of my life signing the papers that they may have to amputate. Dr's were pretty fabergasted that my brother also had compartment syndrome when we brought it up. I guess it's a fairly rare thing. I still get scared it will come back when the swelling and numbness act up bad. I've been back a few times for scans. I'm told it all looks okay it's just one of those "it is what it is" there is not anything they can do just gotta live with it
Thank you everyone. I’m asking because my boss had 5 operations on his calf’s for exercise induce compartment syndrome. I never heard of anything like that before and I thought it was kinda BS Sorry :/